document_title: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

question_text: who played norma desmond in sunset boulevard on broadway

question_tokens: who played norma desmond in sunset boulevard on broadway

text: Sunset Boulevard (musical)

text: Background[edit]

text: From approximately 1952 to 1956, Gloria Swanson worked with actor Richard Stapley (aka Richard Wyler) and cabaret singer/pianist Dickson Hughes on a musical adaptation originally entitled Starring Norma Desmond, then Boulevard![1] It ended on a happier note than the film, with Norma allowing Joe to leave and pursue a happy ending with Betty. Rights holder Paramount Pictures originally had given Swanson verbal permission to proceed with the musical, but there had been no formal legal arrangement. On 20 February 1957, Paramount executive Russell Holman wrote to Swanson asking her to cease work on the project because "it would be damaging for the property to be offered to the entertainment public in another form as a stage musical."[2] In 1994, Hughes incorporated material from the production into Swanson on Sunset, based on his and Stapley's experiences in writing Boulevard!. A recording of the entire score, which had been housed in the Gloria Swanson archives at the University of Texas, was released on CD in 2008.

text: In the early 1960s, Stephen Sondheim outlined a musical stage adaptation and went so far as to compose the first scene with librettist Burt Shevelove. A chance encounter with Billy Wilder at a cocktail party gave Sondheim the opportunity to introduce himself and ask the original film's co-screenwriter and director his opinion of the project (which was to star Jeanette MacDonald). "You can't write a musical about Sunset Boulevard," Wilder responded, "it has to be an opera. After all, it's about a dethroned queen". Sondheim immediately aborted his plans. A few years later, when he was invited by Hal Prince to write the score for a film remake starring Angela Lansbury as a fading musical comedian rather than a silent film star, Sondheim declined, citing his conversation with Wilder.[3]

text: When Lloyd Webber saw the film in the early 1970s, he was inspired to write what he pictured as the title song for a theatrical adaptation, fragments of which he instead incorporated into Gumshoe.[4]  In 1976, after a conversation with Hal Prince, who had the theatrical rights to Sunset, Lloyd Webber wrote "an idea for the moment when Norma Desmond returns to Paramount Studios"; Lloyd Webber did no further work on the play until after 1989's Aspects of Love.[4] At that point, Lloyd Webber "felt it was the subject [he] had to compose next",[4] though by February 1990 he had announced plans to turn Really Useful Group private so he could "make movies rather than musicals."[5] Tim Rice was, at one stage, rumored to have been collaborating on the piece.[6] An early version of "With One Look", then titled "Just One Glance", was performed by Elaine Paige at Lloyd Webber's 1991 wedding.[7]

text: In 1991, Lloyd Webber asked Amy Powers, a lawyer from New York with no professional lyric-writing experience, to write the lyrics for Sunset Boulevard.[8] Don Black was later brought in to work with Powers; the two wrote the version that was performed in 1991 at Lloyd Webber's Sydmonton Festival.  This original version starred Ria Jones as Norma.[9] but it was not a success. A revised version, written by Black and Christopher Hampton had a complete performance at the 1992 Sydmonton Festival, now with Patti LuPone playing Norma,[10] and "met with great success".[8] Lloyd Webber borrowed several of the tunes from his 1986 mini-musical Cricket, written with Tim Rice, which had been performed at Windsor Castle and later at the Sydmonton Festival.[11]

text: Synopsis[edit]

text: Act I[edit]

text: In 1949 Hollywood, down-on-his-luck screenwriter Joe Gillis tries to hustle up some work at Paramount Studios ("Let's Have Lunch"). His appointment with a producer goes poorly when the executive rejects both Joe's proposed script and a loan to bring his car payments up to date. Joe does, however, meet Betty Schaefer, a pretty, young script editor who suggests they collaborate to rework one of his earlier screenplays. As they chat, Joe is spotted by car repossession agents and makes a quick escape.

text: During the chase that ensues, Joe evades his pursuers by pulling into the garage of a palatial but dilapidated mansion on Sunset Boulevard. Beckoned inside the house, Joe encounters Norma Desmond, the "greatest star of all" who ruled the silent film era but didn't make the transition to sound movies. Taken aback, Joe comments, "You used to be in pictures; you used to be big," to which Norma retorts, "I am big — it's the pictures that got small!"

text: The gloomy estate is inhabited only by Norma and Max, her loyal butler and chauffeur. Although decades past her prime and mostly forgotten by the public, Norma is convinced she is as beautiful and in demand as ever. Max perpetuates this illusion by shielding her from the realities of life out of the limelight and by writing her letters purportedly from still-devoted fans. Norma informs Joe of her plan to return to the screen with Salome, a script she has written for Cecil B. DeMille to direct with her in the starring role as the teenage biblical temptress. Dubious but sensing opportunity, Joe accepts her offer of work as editor on the script. Norma insists that Joe stay in her home while they collaborate on Salome.

text: Joe immediately realizes the script is incoherent, but Norma won't allow a major rewrite and the revision drags on for months. During this time Joe is a virtual prisoner at the house, but he does break away to fulfill his commitment to Betty. Their working relationship blossoms into a romance that has her reconsidering her engagement to Joe's best friend, Artie ("Girl Meets Boy").

text: Blind to Joe's opportunism, Norma lavishes him with gifts that include a wardrobe makeover and he becomes her kept man ("The Lady's Paying"). She declares her love for him and turns quite possessive ("The Perfect Year"); when he leaves her to attend Artie's New Year's Eve party ("This Time Next Year"), she is distraught and attempts suicide. As a conciliatory gesture, Joe reluctantly returns to work on Salome.

text: Act II[edit]

text: A cryptic message from Paramount has Norma certain that DeMille is eager to discuss her script. She drops in on the set of his current film and is greeted warmly by former colleagues and the famed director himself, but DeMille is noncommittal about Salome. Meanwhile, Max discovers the studio had called to ask about Norma's exotic car, not her screenplay. However, a delusional Norma leaves the lot convinced she'll soon be back in front of the cameras and begins to prepare for the role ("As If We Never Said Goodbye").

text: Increasingly paranoid, Norma deduces that Joe and Betty are more than just friends ("Too Much in Love to Care"). She calls the younger woman to reveal Joe's secret life at the mansion, but he overhears and grabs the phone to tell Betty to come see for herself. Realizing their affair is doomed, Joe brusquely tells her he enjoys being Norma's pet and that she should go back to Artie. Betty departs, confused and brokenhearted, and Joe tells Norma he is leaving her and returning to his hometown in Ohio. He also bluntly informs her that Salome is an unfilmable script and her fans have long abandoned her. Furious and grief-stricken, Norma fatally shoots Joe three times as he storms out of the house.

text: Now completely insane, Norma mistakes the swarms of police and reporters who arrive for studio personnel. Believing she is on the set of Salome, she slowly descends her grand staircase and utters "And now, Mr. DeMille, I am ready for my close-up."

text: Major characters[edit]

text:
Norma Desmond — a faded, eccentric, former silent screen star
Joe Gillis — a struggling young screenwriter
Max von Mayerling – Norma's first husband and butler
Betty Schaefer – A budding writer and Joe's love interest
Cecil B. DeMille – the famous director
Artie Green – Betty's fiancé
Sheldrake – a movie producer on the lot
Manfred – an expensive tailor

text: Characters and original cast[edit]

text:
Character

Sydmonton Festival(1991)

Sydmonton Festival(1992)

West End/London(1993)

Los Angeles(1993)

Broadway(1994)

Toronto(1995)

First U.S. National Tour(1996)

Australia(1996)

Second U.S. National Tour(1998)

BBC Radio 2 Concert(2004)

West End(2008)

West End(2016)

Broadway(2017)

UK Tour(2017)

Norma Desmond

Ria Jones

Patti LuPone

Glenn Close

Diahann Carroll

Linda Balgord

Debra Byrne

Petula Clark

Kathryn Evans

Glenn Close

Ria Jones

Joe Gillis

Michael Ball

Kevin Anderson

Alan Campbell

Rex Smith

Ron Bohmer

Hugh Jackman

Lewis Cleale

Michael Ball

Ben Goddard

Michael Xavier

Danny Mac

Betty Schaefer

Frances Ruffelle

LuAnn Arouson

Meredith Braun

Judy Kuhn

Alice Ripley

Anita Louise Combe

Lauren Kennedy

Catherine Porter

Sarah Uriarte Berry

Emma Williams

Laura Pitt-Pulford

Siobhan Dillon

Molly Lynch

Max von Meyerling

Kevin Colson

Daniel Benzali

George Hearn

Walter Charles

Ed Dixon

Norbert Lamla

Allen Fitzpatrick

Michael Bauer

Dave Willetts

Fred Johanson

Adam Pearce

Artie Green

N/A

Gareth Snook

Vincent Tumeo

Christopher Shyer

James Clow

Tim Beveridge

Michael Berry

Michael Xavier

Tomm Coles

Haydn Oakley

Preston Truman Boyd

Dougie Carter

Cecil B. DeMille

N/A

Michael Bauer

Alan Oppenheimer

John Braden

William Chapman

Clive Hearne

George Merner

Ian Burford

Craig Pinder

Julian Forsyth

Paul Schoeffler

Carl Sanderson

Sheldrake

N/A

Harry Dixon

Sal Mistretta

N/A

Kenny Morris

Robert Grubb

Tom Flagg

Rohan Tickell

Alexander Evans

Mark Goldthorpe

Andy Taylor

Kristoffer Hellström

Manfred

N/A

Nicolas Colicos

Rick Podell

N/A

Mark Hardy

John McTernan

Rick Qualls

Mark Mickerracher

Sam Kenyon

Fenton Gray

Jim Walton

Simon Loughton

text: Musical numbers[edit]

text:
Act I [12]
"Overture" / "Prologue" – Joe
"Let's Have Lunch" – Joe, Actors, actress, scriptwriters, Artie, Sheldrake, Betty
"Every Movie's A Circus" † – Betty, Joe
"Surrender" – Norma
"With One Look" – Norma
"Salome" – Norma, Joe
"The Greatest Star of All" – Max
"Every Movie's a Circus (Reprise)" ∞ † – Actors, Actress, Waiters, Artie, Joe, Betty, Barman
"Girl Meets Boy" – Joe, Betty
"New Ways to Dream" – Norma, Joe
"The Lady's Paying" – Norma, Manfred, Joe, Ensemble
"The Perfect Year" – Norma, Joe
"This Time Next Year" – Ensemble, Artie, Betty, Joe, Cecil B. DeMile

Act II [13]
"Entr'acte" – orchestra
"Sunset Boulevard" – Joe
"There's Been a Call" – Norma, Joe
"As If We Never Said Goodbye" – Norma
"Surrender (Reprise)" – Cecil B. DeMile
"Girl Meets Boy (Reprise)" – Joe, Betty
"Eternal Youth Is Worth a Little Suffering" – Norma, Astrologer, Beauticians
"Too Much in Love to Care" – Betty, Joe
"New Ways to Dream (Reprise)" – Max
"The Final Scene" – Joe, Betty, Norma, Max

text: † Song added for Los Angeles production

text: ∞ Originally a reprise of "Let's Have Lunch"

text: Productions[edit]

text: Original London production[edit]

text: The original West End production, directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Bob Avian, with costumes from Anthony Powell, opened on 12 July 1993 at the Adelphi Theatre. The cast featured Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond, Kevin Anderson as Joe Gillis, Meredith Braun as Betty Schaefer, and Daniel Benzali as Norma's ex-husband, Max.[14]

text: Billy Wilder and his wife Audrey were joined by Nancy Olson, who had played Betty Schaefer in the original film, at the opening night performance. Of it, Wilder observed, "The best thing they did was leave the script alone," and of Patti LuPone he exclaimed, "She's a star from the moment she walks on stage".[15]

text: Reviews were mixed, according to the Associated Press (AP) review summary. That summary quoted, for example, the review by Michael Kuchwara for the AP: "Some reviewers felt Lloyd Webber took the sting out of a cynical tale. 'Wilder's bitter brew has been diluted,' wrote AP Drama Critic Michael Kuchwara. He added: 'When LuPone is off stage, the show sags.'"[16] Frank Rich wrote "Much of the film's plot, dialogue and horror-movie mood are preserved, not to mention clips used to illustrate those sequences in which the faded silent-film star, Norma Desmond ...and her kept, young screenwriter, Joe Gillis, ... travel by car. The lyricist, Don Black ..., and the playwright, Christopher Hampton ..., smartly tailor their jokes to the original screenplay's style. At times, even Lloyd Webber gets into the Wilder swing. Both acts open with joltingly angry diatribes about Hollywood, part exposition-packed recitative and part song, in which the surprisingly dark, jazz-accented music, the most interesting I've yet encountered from this composer, meshes perfectly with the cynical lyrics. Anderson makes the sardonic Wilder voice an almost physical presence in Sunset Boulevard, but he is too often drowned out by both LuPone's Broadway belt and mechanical efforts of Lloyd Webber and his director, Trevor Nunn, to stamp the proven formulas of Phantom and Les Miz on even an intimate tale. At odd moments, the mammoth set advances like a glacier toward the audience or retreats, or, most dramatically, rises partly up into the flies, actors in tow."[14]

text: The show closed for three weeks, re-opening on 19 April 1994, revamped to follow the Los Angeles production, with a second official "opening". The revamped musical had a new song, "Every Movie's A Circus", a new set, and new stars, Betty Buckley and John Barrowman.[17] Michael Bauer, who had originally played DeMille, replaced Benzali as Max, a role he played until the end of the London run (and subsequently on the UK tour and in the BBC concert). Buckley and the production garnered rave reviews. David Lister of The Independent, for example wrote: "The show looked an improvement on the one that got decidedly mixed reviews last summer."[17]

text: Buckley went on to replace Glenn Close as Norma in the second year of the Broadway production. Elaine Paige, who had filled in when Buckley was ill in 1994, took over the part in the West End in May 1995[18] before joining the Broadway production for the end of its run between 1996 and 1997. Petula Clark filled in for Paige during her holiday in September/October 1995, before taking over the role in January 1996[19] when Paige departed for the United States.  The last actress to play Norma in London was Rita Moreno, who filled in for a vacationing Clark in September and October 1996. John Barrowman played Joe until 1995, when he was replaced by Alexander Hanson. Graham Bickley played the role for the final year of the London run.

text: The show closed on 5 April 1997, having played 1,530 performances.[20]

text: Los Angeles production[edit]

text: The American premiere was at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles, California, on 9 December 1993, with Close as Norma and Alan Campbell as Joe. Featured were George Hearn as Max and Judy Kuhn as Betty. Lloyd Webber had reworked both the book and score, tightening the production, better organising the orchestrations, and adding the song "Every Movie's A Circus".[21] This new production was better received by the critics and was an instant success, running for 369 performances. The Los Angeles production also recorded a new cast album that is well regarded. It is also the only unabridged cast recording of the show, since the original London recording was trimmed by over thirty minutes.

text: A controversy arose with this production after Faye Dunaway was hired to replace Glenn Close. Dunaway went into rehearsals with Rex Smith as Joe and Jon Cypher as Max. Tickets went on sale for Dunaway's engagement but shortly after rehearsals started the producers announced that Dunaway was unable to sing the role to their standards and the production would shut down when Close left.[22] Dunaway "claims that when advance sales slumped, Sir Andrew decided to save money by sending the LA cast of Sunset Boulevard - based on the story of a clapped-out Hollywood actress - to Broadway, where it is due to open in November. "[23] However, the Los Angeles Times reported that "The cancellation came despite advance ticket sales for the Los Angeles production 'way in excess of $4 million,' said Peter Brown, a spokesman for Lloyd Webber."[22]

text: Dunaway filed a lawsuit claiming her reputation had been damaged by the producer's claims.  Dunaway's lawsuit was settled and the producers paid her a settlement but no other terms of the agreement have ever been disclosed.[24]

text: Original Broadway production[edit]

text: The musical opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre on 17 November 1994 with  Close, Campbell, and Hearn recreating their roles from the Los Angeles production and Alice Ripley joining the cast as Betty. Also in the cast were Alan Oppenheimer as Cecil B. DeMille and Vincent Tumeo making his Broadway debut as Artie Green. The production opened with the highest advance in the history of Broadway ticket sales at that time[25] and ran for 977 performances. Billy Wilder was in attendance on opening night and was coaxed onstage by Close for the curtain call.[15]  In a season with only one other musical nominated for Best Musical, the production won several Tony Awards; Glenn Close, with only one other nominee as Best Actress in a musical, won the Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.

text: The New York Times theatre critic Vincent Canby commented about the Tony Awards for this year: "Awards don't really tell you much when the competition is feeble or simply nonexistent, as was the case the year that Sunset Boulevard won its Tony. Such prizes are for use in advertising and promotion and to impress the folks back home."[26]

text: Patti LuPone, who initially had been promised the Broadway run, sued Lloyd Webber and received a settlement reported to be $1 million. Frank Rich, in his book The Hot Seat,[27] noted that these lawsuits contributed to Sunset Boulevard setting the record for the most money lost by a theatrical endeavour in the history of the United States.  According to The New York Times, operating costs soared far beyond the budget, and the "Broadway production has earned back, at best, 80% of the initial $13 million".[28]  For example, during the week of 2 July 1995, "it cost $731,304 to run Sunset Boulevard, including... advertising fees of $138,352 (which had been budgeted at $40,000 a week)."[28]  The road companies also generated large financial losses.  Rich puts the final figure near or above US$20 million lost, making the show what he termed a "flop-hit," as it ran more than two years. The musical sold over a million tickets on Broadway.[29]

text: Touring productions[edit]

text: The first national US tour in 1996 starring Linda Balgord[30] ended in early 1997 after only a handful of venues due to exorbitant costs involved in transporting the set.[31]  Lloyd Webber called in director Susan H. Schulman to design a scaled-down production, with Petula Clark once again in the lead opposite Lewis Cleale as Joe.  This production featured Anthony Powell's Tony Award nominated costumes, a slightly modified libretto by Schulman and Don Black and a new, more tour-friendly set by Derek McLane.[32] The revised production, opening in Pittsburgh about a year after the closing of the original tour in Chicago, went on the road for almost two years, though it avoided the cities covered by the previous tour.

text: In August 2001, a UK tour commenced in Plymouth starring Faith Brown as Norma, opposite Earl Carpenter as Joe. The production had a completely new set, much simpler than the original London set, although the overall production remained closer to the original staging than the revamped US national tour.  Carpenter left midway through the tour and was replaced by Jeremy Finch, who had previously understudied the role.  The tour finished in late 2002 in Manchester and met with both excellent reviews and respectable ticket sales.

text: Ria Jones, who originated the role of Norma Desmond in the 1991 Sydmonton Workshop and understudied Glenn Close in the 2016 West End revival, will lead a new production opening at Leicester's Curve Theatre on September 16, 2017 for a two-week run before embarking on a national tour around the United Kingdom.[33]

text: International productions[edit]

text: A German production of the musical opened 7 December 1995 at the newly built Rhein-Main Theater in Niedernhausen near Wiesbaden, starring Helen Schneider and Sue Mathys (matinees) as Norma and Uwe Kröger as Joe. A cast recording (with Schneider and Kröger) was released in 1996. The role of Norma was later played by Daniela Ziegler and Christina Grimandi, with Schneider and, for the last few months, Sue Mathys both returning to play the lead. The production closed in May 1998.

text: The original Canadian production opened in Toronto in 1995 with Diahann Carroll in the lead role. Her performance was also praised by critics, although the production closed sooner than expected.  It also starred Rex Smith as Joe, Walter Charles as Max and Anita Louise Combe, who had understudied the role in the London production, as Betty. The production later moved to Vancouver for the final few months of its run. A highlights recording of this production was released on CD.

text: In October 1996, the original Australian production of the musical opened at Melbourne's newly restored Regent Theatre. The cast included Debra Byrne as Norma, Hugh Jackman as Joe, and Catherine Porter as Betty.[34] Maria Mercedes starred as the alternate Norma, performing two of the eight shows each week.[35] Amanda Harrison took over the role of Betty for the final months of the show's run. The production ran until 14 June 1997.[36]

text: A year-long Dutch tour commenced in the Netherlands on 10 October 2008, with Simone Kleinsma and Pia Douwes alternating as Norma and Antonie Kamerling as Joe, using the same modified libretto that was first used in the 2001 UK tour. Kleinsma went on to win the Best Actress Award for the role in the 2009 Dutch Musical Awards and also Best Actress for the Flemish Musical Prizes. An official cast album was released, with Kleinsma appearing on the main album and with a four track bonus CD of Pia Douwes singing Norma's main arias.

text: The Swedish premiere took place at the Värmlandsoperan in September 2009, to mostly positive reviews. The role of Norma was played by Maria Lundqvist. A second much more elaborate production opened in October 2010, at the Gothenburg Opera House, with Gunilla Backman (who previously understudied the role of Betty in the original German production) starring as Norma.

text: A South African production starring Angela Kilian[37] as Norma and Jonathan Roxmouth[38] as Joe, was shown at the Pieter Toerien Theatre at Montecasino in Johannesburg from late August 2013 to mid October 2013 and at Theatre On The Bay in Cape Town from late October 2013 until early January 2014.

text: Another German production, starring Katharina Scherer as Norma, Philippe J. Kayser as Joe, Antonia Crames as Betty, and Stephan Vanecek as Max, opened to sold-out seats on 15 September 2017 and had its fourteenth and final performance on 8 October 2017 at the Tuchfabrik in Trier.[39]

text: The Spanish premiere production opened 27 December 2017 at the Auditorio de Tenerife, directed by Jaime Azpilicueta and starring Paloma San Basilio as Norma Desmond, Gerónimo Rauch as Joe Gillis, Inma Mira as Betty Schaefer, and Gonzalo Montes as Max von Mayerling.[40]

text: London revivals[edit]

text: An eight-week engagement of a minimalist production, in which the actors used musical instruments, enjoyed a good run at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury over the summer of 2008.  Directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, the cast featured Kathryn Evans as Norma and Ben Goddard as Joe.  A West End transfer of the Watermill production began on 4 December 2008 prior to an official opening 15 December at the Comedy Theatre, with Evans and Goddard reprising their roles, and Dave Willetts joining the cast as Max.[41] The production received rave reviews and extended its run to September 2009. However, the production closed just after initially planned on 30 May 2009.[42] It had originally been booking until 19 September 2009. There were plans for a UK Tour and also talks of bringing the show to Broadway[43]

text: Opening on 4 April 2016 English National Opera (ENO) presented a five-week 'semi-staged' run at the London Coliseum. Glenn Close reprised her role as Norma, making her West End debut, along with Michael Xavier as Joe, Siobhan Dillon as Betty and Fred Johanson as Max.[44] Michael Linnit and Michael Grade for Gate Ventures PLC worked with ENO to present the show; Johnny Hon was the executive producer.[45] In October 2016, Playbill reported that "the show 'is definitely a go' for the Palace Theatre [Broadway] in January 2017." There has been no official announcement, but producers have expressed an interest in bringing the ENO production to Broadway.[46] It was announced on 25 October 2016 that the production will transfer to Broadway at the Palace Theatre in a limited engagement, starting in February 2017 with Close playing Norma, directed by Lonny Price.[47]

text: 2017 Broadway revival[edit]

text: Glenn Close reprised her performance as Norma Desmond in a revival on Broadway. Featuring a 40-piece onstage orchestra and a relatively minimalist set, the production began performances at the Palace Theatre on 2 February 2017 before opening officially on 9 February for a limited run, with tickets on sale through 25 June 2017.[47][48] The cast featured Michael Xavier as Joe Gillis, Siobhan Dillon as Betty Schaefer, and Fred Johanson as Max von Mayerling, all reprising their roles from the 2016 London ENO production. The 2017 Broadway revival was directed by Lonny Price.[49][50]

text: Other productions[edit]

text: In 2004, the first regional production of Sunset Boulevard was staged in the round at the Marriott Theatre in Chicago for a limited period and starred Paula Scrofano as Norma. It was the first and only regional production to be licensed by the Really Useful Group (RUG) for the next six years. However, in the spring of 2010, the leasing rights were finally released to regional companies and numerous productions have been staged around the United States.

text: The Ogunquit Playhouse production ran from 28 July through 14 August 2010 and starred Stefanie Powers as Norma and Todd Gearhart as Joe. This was the first fully staged production in the U.S. in nearly a decade. The Ogunquit production was directed by Shaun Kerrison with choreography by Tom Kosis, featured costumes by Anthony Powell and an all new set designed exclusively for Ogunquit by Todd Ivins.[51]

text: The Arvada Center production ran from 14 September to 10 October 2010, in Denver, Colorado, the same city that launched the ill-fated first US tour in 1996. The show starred Ann Crumb as Norma and Kevin Earley as Joe. The production was directed by Rod A. Landsberry.[52]

text: The Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia) production ran from 7 December 2010 to 13 February 2011 and starred Florence Lacey as Norma, with direction by Eric D. Schaeffer.[53] Schaeffer said that the theatre was turned "into the back lot of Paramount Studios, so you feel like you're sitting in the back lot and there's sandbags and catwalks overhead, and then that actually transforms into the mansion."[54] The production featured a 20-piece orchestra, which is the largest the theatre has ever used.[55]

text: Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City, Utah staged their production 29 April 2011 to 14 May 2011. Lynne Wintersteller starred as Norma, Benjamin Eakeley as Joe and Martin Vidnovic as Max. The show was directed by John Going.[56] The  production team included choreographer Jayne Luke, music director Michael Rice, set designer George Maxwell, costume designer Carol Wells-Day, lighting designer Dennis Parichy and sound designer Matthew Tibbs.[57]

text: The Music Theatre of Wichita staged a production from  6 to 10 July 2011, using a 27-piece orchestra. The show was directed by Mark Madama and starred Ann Morrison as Norma, Chris Peluso as Joe, Nicolas F. Saverine as Max and Kaleigh Cronin as Betty.

text: The Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan, staged a production starring four-time Emmy-winning soap star Kim Zimmer from 23 August to 4 September 2011. The show was directed by Hans Friedrichs, with music direction by John Jay Espino.

text: The Pittsburgh CLO staged a new production in July 2012 starring Liz Callaway as Norma Desmond.[58]

text: Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick, ME, staged a production for their 2012 Summer Season starring Denise Whelan as Norma and Gregg Goodbrod as Joe.  The cast was reduced to 10 and the script was slimmed down to focus on Norma and the people closest to her.

text: Another scaled down production, using the modified libretto from the 2001 UK tour, played at Vintage Theatre in Denver, Colorado from 29 April to 29 May 2016. It was directed by Evgueni Mlodik and Craig Bond and starred Opera Colorado mezzo soprano Marcia Ragonetti as Norma Desmond, Drew Hirschboeck as Joe Gillis, Wes Munsil as Max, and Miranda Byers as Betty Schaefer.[1]

text: Concert productions[edit]

text: In April 2004, Petula Clark reprised her role as Norma opposite Michael Ball in a concert production of the show that ran for two nights at the Cork Opera House in Ireland, which was later broadcast on BBC Radio 2. The cast also included Michael Bauer (Max), Emma Williams (Betty), Michael Xavier (Artie) and the BBC Concert Orchestra was conducted by Martin Yates. To date, with more than 2500 performances to her credit, she has played the role more often than any other actress.[citation needed]

text: Another two-day concert engagement took place in 2004 in Sydney by the Production Company; Judi Connelli starred as Norma, Michael Cormick played Joe and Anthony Warlow was Max. The Production Company staged a slightly more elaborate version of the concert for a week in Melbourne during 2005. Connelli again starred as Norma, and David Campbell took the role of Joe. The State Theatre was sold out for every performance.[59]

text: Proposed film adaptation[edit]

text: Paramount Pictures and the Relevant Picture Company announced in 2005 that they were developing a film adaptation of the musical.[60]  In 2007, The Daily Telegraph reported that actresses being considered for the role of Norma Desmond included Close, Paige, Meryl Streep, Liza Minnelli and Barbra Streisand.[61]  In an interview in 2008, Andrew Lloyd Webber said that there are no plans for a film adaptation to be made in the near future, but he remains hopeful one will be made at some point.[citation needed] In 2011, Lloyd Webber indicated he would like Madonna to star in the film, though she wasn't taking his calls.[62] In December 2011, Andrew Lloyd Webber told the Daily Mail that he was considering filming a stage production of the show for cinema and DVD release featuring Glenn Close as Norma Desmond, but noted that the inherent costs in forming the production might hinder the project's viability.[63]

text: In an interview with Elaine Paige during her BBC Radio 2 show Elaine Paige on Sunday on 6 October 2013, Lloyd Webber was asked "What's happening to the film?", and he replied:

text: I would love a film to be made of Sunset, of course, but unfortunately the rights are owned by Paramount who own the original movie and, so far, talks with them have never led to anything. And it's sad for me because I think in many ways Sunset is, I think, the most complete musical I have written, I mean in the sense that the book and the music and everything come together I think in a way that perhaps even some of the others, they don't. Anyway that's my sadness at the moment and maybe, one day, the whole thing will get brokered. I'm doing something else with Paramount because after I've done this I'm producing School of Rock on stage, and that's a Paramount picture, so maybe if they like what I do with that they'll let me do Sunset.[64]

text: In 17 August 2017, Close was in early talks to play Norma Desmond in the movie.[65]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: Original London production[edit]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

1994

Laurence Olivier Award[66]

Best New Musical

Nominated

Best Actress in a Musical

Patti LuPone

Nominated

1995

Betty Buckley

Nominated

1996

Elaine Paige

Nominated

text: Original Broadway production[edit]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

1995

Tony Award

Best Musical

Won

Best Original Score

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Christopher Hampton

Won

Best Book of a Musical

Don Black and Christopher Hampton

Won

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Alan Campbell

Nominated

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Glenn Close

Won

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

George Hearn

Won

Best Direction of a Musical

Trevor Nunn

Nominated

Best Choreography

Bob Avian

Nominated

Best Scenic Design

John Napier

Won

Best Costume Design

Anthony Powell

Nominated

Best Lighting Design

Andrew Bridge

Won

Drama Desk Award

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

Glenn Close

Won

text: 2008 London revival[edit]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

2009

Laurence Olivier Award[67]

Best Actress in a Musical

Kathryn Evans

Nominated

Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Dave Willetts

Nominated

text: 2016 London revival[edit]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

2016

Evening Standard Award

Best Musical Performance

Glenn Close

Won

Michael Xavier

Nominated

2017

Laurence Olivier Award

Best Musical Revival

Nominated

Best Actress in a Musical

Glenn Close

Nominated

text: 2017 Broadway revival[edit]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

2017

Drama Desk Award

Best Lighting Design

Mark Henderson

Nominated

Drama League Award

Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical

Nominated

Outer Critics Circle Award

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Nominated

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ Based on liner notes to Boulevard! CD release by Richard Stapley, Tim J. Hutton, and Steven M. Warner

Jump up ^ The Bad and the Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties by Sam Kashner and Jennifer MacNair, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2002, p. 346, ISBN 0-393-04321-5

Jump up ^ On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder by Ed Sikov, Hyperion, New York, New York, 1998, pp. 467–468, ISBN 0-7868-6194-0

^ Jump up to: a b c '...Inspired by Sunset Boulevard' Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. from Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group website

Jump up ^ Lloyd Webber in Accord For Buyback of Company, a February 1990 article from The New York Times

Jump up ^ "The new model Lloyd Webber". The Times. 6 October 1990.

Jump up ^ Bamigboye, Baz (18 February 1991). "Mark and Ginny steal Lloyd Webber's show". Daily Mail.

^ Jump up to: a b "A Journey Down $un$set Blvd". Goodspeed Musicals's Show Music magazine. squareone.org. Fall 1993. Retrieved 21 September 2008.

Jump up ^ Ansdell, Caroline. "20 Questions With... Ria Jones (Ria Jones speaking to Caroline Ansdell)" Archived 10 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine. whatsonstage.com, 5 March 2007

Jump up ^ Snelson, John. Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Yale University Press, 2009, ISBN 0-300-15113-6, p.16

Jump up ^ "Sir Tim Rice – Cricket" timrice.co.uk

Jump up ^ "Inside the Playbill: Sunset Boulevard - Opening Night at the Minskoff Theatre (Act I)" playbill.com

Jump up ^ "Inside the Playbill: Sunset Boulevard - Opening Night at the Minskoff Theatre (Act II)" playbill.com

^ Jump up to: a b Rich, Frank. "Upstaging a New Lloyd Webber Musical" The New York Times, 14 July 1993

^ Jump up to: a b On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder, p. 589

Jump up ^ Wolf, Matt. "'Sunset Boulevard' Has Mixed Reviews, But Billy Wilder's Impressed", Associated Press, 13 July 1993, International News (no page number)

^ Jump up to: a b Lister, David. "(SECOND) First Night / Hope dawns for 'Sunset Boulevard': 'Sunset Boulevard'; Adelphi Theatre" The Independent (London, England), 20 April 1994

Jump up ^ De Jongh, Nicholas. "Elaine finds new ways to brighten up the Boulevard;'Sunset Boulevard' The Adelphi", Evening Standard (London), 18 May 1995, p. 7

Jump up ^ Stringer, Robin. "At 62, Petula Succeeds To Sunset Throne", Evening Standard (London), 8 December 1995, p.17

Jump up ^ Wolf, Matt. "As 'Sunsets' fade, Rug's new era dawns", Variety, 7 April 1997 – 13 April 1997, p. 175

Jump up ^ Weinraub, Bernard."Hollywood Braces For Look Into Mirror Of 'Sunset Boulevard'". The New York Times, 9 December 1993

^ Jump up to: a b Shirley, Don "'Sunset Blvd.' to Be Closed; Dunaway's Singing Faulted : Theater: Actress, reportedly 'flabbergasted' by ouster, was to replace Glenn Close. Refunds could total $4 million" Los Angeles Times, 24 June 1994

Jump up ^ Reeves, Phil. "Hollywood waits for courtroom theatrics to outshine stage" The Independent, 26 August 1994

Jump up ^ "Lloyd Webber and Dunaway Settle" The New York Times, 17 January 1995

Jump up ^ Sunset Boulevard History Inspiration Archived 29 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine.  reallyuseful.com

Jump up ^ Canby, Vincent."Why Whisper About It? 'The Life' Is a Joy", The New York Times, 5 October 1997

Jump up ^ Hot Seat Archived 27 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine.:  Theater Criticism for The New York Times, 1980–1993 (Random House, 1998. ISBN 0-679-45300-8) from the author's website

^ Jump up to: a b Weber, Bruce. "Following 'Sunset,' Shadows Over Lloyd Webber's Empire", The New York Times, 24 March 1997

Jump up ^ "Cumulative Broadway Grosses by Show". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.

Jump up ^ Campbell, Jackie."Linda Balgord Cast As Norma For 'Sunset Boulevard' National Tour" Rocky Mountain News, abstract from encyclopedia.com, 28 January 1996. Retrieved 3 August 2010

Jump up ^ Newmark, Judith."Hiatus looms for 'Boulevard'" St. Louis Post-Dispatch, abstract from nl.newsbank.com, 23 March 1997. Retrieved 3 August 2010

Jump up ^ Strom, Harper.Regional review, Atlanta talkinbroadway.com. Retrieved 3 August 2010

Jump up ^ Hemley, Matthew (2017-01-16). "Ria Jones to play Norma Desmond in tour of Sunset Boulevard | News". The Stage. Retrieved 2017-02-07.

Jump up ^ Hallett, Bryce.  "Opening night shines for troubled 'Sunset'",  The Australian,  28 October 1996, p. 3 (Local)

Jump up ^ Thomson, Helen.  "New star ensures Sunset still shines",  The Age (Melbourne, Australia), 12 March 1997, p. 7 (Arts)

Jump up ^ Burchall, Greg.   "I'm ready for my curtain, Melbourne; Musicals: 'Sunset' sunset", The Age (Melbourne, Australia), 13 June 1997, p. 1 (Metro)

Jump up ^ "Actress Profile: Angela Kilian - Limited Edition, South Africa". Ltdedition.co.za. Retrieved 2017-02-07.

Jump up ^ Edmunds, Gayle (19 May 2013). "The Interview: Jonathan Roxmouth, SA musical theatre's hottest property". City Press. Archived from the original on 19 May 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2018. CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)

Jump up ^ "Official website of Tuchfabrik Trier". Retrieved 2017-10-17.

Jump up ^ "Paloma San Basilio será Norma Desmond en «Sunset Boulevard" abc.es, 15 June 2017

Jump up ^ Shenton, Mark. "Sunset Boulevard Will Return to the West End in December" Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine., Playbill, 17 November 2008

Jump up ^ playbill.com "London Revival of Sunset Boulevard to Close May 30"

Jump up ^ "Watermills SUNSET BOULEVARD to Close in West End May 30, 2009"

Jump up ^ "Glenn Close Comes to ENO for 'Sunset Boulevard'" eno.org

Jump up ^ "Photo Flash: Glenn Close, Andrew Lloyd Webber and More at Opening Night of SUNSET BOULEVARD". BroadwayWorld.com. 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2018-06-03.

Jump up ^ Viagas, Robert. "Glenn Close 'Sunset Boulevard' Reportedly Sets Broadway Encore", Playbill, 13 October 2016

^ Jump up to: a b Gans, Andrew. "Glenn Close Will Revisit 'Sunset Boulevard' on Broadway", Playbill, 25 October 2016

Jump up ^ Gans, Andrew. "Tix for 'Sunset Boulevard' Revival, Starring Glenn Close, Now on Sale through June" Playbill, 7 February 2017

Jump up ^ Gans, Andrew. "Complete Casting Announced for Glenn Close Revival of 'Sunset Boulevard'" Playbill, 9 January 2017

Jump up ^ Gans, Andrew. "Glenn Close Returns to Broadway in Revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 'Sunset Boulevard'" Playbill, 2 February 2017

Jump up ^ Gans, Andrew.""With One Look": Stefanie Powers Is Norma Desmond in Ogunquit Playhouse's 'Sunset Boulevard'" Archived 3 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill, 28 July 2010

Jump up ^ Blank, Matthew."PHOTO CALL: Ann Crumb, Kevin Earley and Jenny Gelwick Cruise 'Sunset Boulevard' in Denver" Archived 26 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill, 17 September 2010

Jump up ^ Jones, Kenneth."Florence Lacey Will Star in Signature's Sunset Boulevard; Season Announced" Archived 28 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill, 24 February 2010

Jump up ^ Gans, Andrew."Eric Schaeffer On the Signature Sunset and Kennedy Center 'Follies'" Archived 6 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill, 2 December 2010

Jump up ^ Marks, Peter."A high point in the pit" The Washington Post, 14 December 2010

Jump up ^ Jones, Kenneth (21 October 2012). "Salt Lake City Sunset Boulevard Will Star Lynne Wintersteller and Martin Vidnonic". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2018.

Jump up ^ "Sunset Boulevard". Pioneer Theatre Company. 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2018. CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)

Jump up ^ Eberson, Sharon (24 November 2011). "Theater Notes: CLO lands Callaway; City actor makes mean cocktail". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved 5 February 2012.

Jump up ^ Information about the Australian production from hjackman.com

Jump up ^ Hastings, Chris (10 July 2005). "Close and McGregor to star in Sunset Boulevard film". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 9 May 2012.

Jump up ^ Hastings, Chris; Jones, Beth (5 August 2007). "Meryl Streep competes for Sunset Boulevard". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 9 May 2012.

Jump up ^ "Madonna Wanted" Archived 10 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine., The Village Voice, 8 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.

Jump up ^ Bamigboye, Baz (9 December 2011). "BAZ BAMIGBOYE: Borat says 'I like' to joining Les Miserables". Daily Mail.

Jump up ^ Andrew Lloyd Webber Talks with Elain Paige (audio; at 8:30–9:21). Elaine Paige on Sunday. BBC Radio 2. 6 October 2013.

Jump up ^ Donnelly, Matt (17 August 2017). "Glenn Close to Star in 'Sunset Boulevard' Movie Musical at Paramount (Exclusive)". Daily Mail. Retrieved 26 August 2017.

Jump up ^ "Olivier Winners 1994" Archived 24 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. olivierawards.com. Retrieved 29 March 2011

Jump up ^ "Olivier Winners 2009" Archived 27 May 2012 at Archive.is olivierawards.com. Retrieved 29 March 2011

tag: ol


document_title: Ease of doing business index

question_text: rank of india in easy of doing business

question_tokens: rank of india in easy of doing business

root

text: Ease of doing business index

text: Methodology[edit]

text: The report is above all, a benchmark study of regulation. The survey consists of a questionnaire designed by the Doing Business team with the assistance of academic advisers. The questionnaire centers on a simple business case that ensures comparability across economies and over time. The survey also bases assumptions on the legal form of the business, size, location, and nature of its operations.[4] The ease of doing business index is meant to measure regulations directly affecting businesses and does not directly measure more general conditions such as a nation's proximity to large markets, quality of infrastructure, inflation, or crime.

tag: p

text: The next step of gathering data surveys of over 12,500 expert contributors (lawyers, accountants etc.) in 190 countries who deal with business regulations in their day-to-day work. These individuals interact with the Doing Business team in conference calls, written correspondence and visits by the global team. For the 2017 report, team members visited 34 economies to verify data and to recruit respondents. Data from the survey is subjected to several rounds of verification. The surveys are not a statistical sample, and the results are interpreted and cross-checked for consistency before being included in the report. Results are also validated with the relevant government before publication. Respondents fill out written surveys and provide references to the relevant laws, regulations and fees, based on standardized case scenarios with specific assumptions, such as the business being located in the largest business city of the economy.[4]

text: A nation's ranking on the index is based on the average of 10 subindices:

text:
Starting a business – Procedures, time, cost and minimum capital to open a new business
Dealing with construction permits – Procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse
Getting electricity – procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse
Registering property – Procedures, time and cost to register commercial real estate
Getting credit – Strength of legal rights index, depth of credit information index
Protecting investors – Indices on the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of shareholder suits
Paying taxes – Number of taxes paid, hours per year spent preparing tax returns and total tax payable as share of gross profit
Trading across borders – Number of documents, cost and time necessary to export and import
Enforcing contracts – Procedures, time and cost to enforce a debt contract
Resolving insolvency – The time, cost and recovery rate (%) under bankruptcy proceeding

tag: ul

text: The Doing Business project also offers information on following datasets:

text:
Distance to frontier - Shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the highest performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies included since each indicator was included in Doing Business
Entrepreneurship - Measures entrepreneurial activity. The data is collected directly from 130 company registrars on the number of newly registered firms over the past seven years
Good practices - Provide insights into how governments have improved the regulatory environment in the past in the areas measured by Doing Business
Transparency in business regulation - Data on the accessibility of regulatory information measures how easy it is to access fee schedules for 4 regulatory processes in the largest business city of an economy

text: For example, according to the Doing Business (DB) 2013 report, Canada ranked third on the first subindex "Starting a business" behind only New Zealand and Australia. In Canada there is 1 procedure required to start a business which takes on average 5 days to complete. The official cost is 0.4% of the gross national income per capita. There is no minimum capital requirement. By contrast, in Chad which ranked among the worst (181st out of 185) on this same subindex, there are 9 procedures required to start a business taking 62 days to complete. The official cost is 202% of the gross national income per capita. A minimum capital investment of 289.4% of the gross national income per capita is required.

text: While fewer and simpler regulations often imply higher rankings, this is not always the case. Protecting the rights of creditors and investors, as well as establishing or upgrading property and credit registries, may mean that more regulation is needed.

text: In most indicators, the case study refers to a small domestically-owned manufacturing company - hence the direct relevance of the indicators to foreign investors and large companies is limited. DB uses a simple averaging approach for weighting sub-indicators and calculating rankings. A detailed explanation of every indicator can be found through the DB website, and a .xls archive that simulates reforms.

text: Some caveats regarding the rankings and main information presented have to be considered by every user of the report. Mainly:

text:
Doing Business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firm or investors, such as the macroeconomic conditions, or the level of employment, corruption, stability or poverty, in every country.
Doing Business does not consider the strengths and weakness neither of the global financial system, nor the financial system of every country. It also doesn't consider the state of the finances of the government of every country.
Doing Business does not cover all the regulation, or all the regulatory requirements. Other types of regulation such as financial market, environment, or intellectual property regulations that are relevant for the private sector are not considered.

text: The Doing Business report is not intended as a complete assessment of competitiveness or of the business environment of a country and should rather be considered as a proxy of the regulatory framework faced by the private sector in a country.

text: History[edit]

text: The Doing Business report has its origins in a paper first published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics by Simeon Djankov, Rafael La Porta, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes and Andrei Shleifer called “The Regulation of Entry” in 2002.  The paper presented data on the regulation of entry of start-up firms in 85 countries covering the number of procedures, official time and official cost that a start-up must bear before it could operate legally. The main findings of the paper were that: “Countries with heavier regulation of entry have higher corruption and larger unofficial economies, but no better quality of public or private goods. Countries with more democratic and limited governments have lighter regulation of entry.” The paper became widely known because it provided quantitative evidence that entry regulation benefits politicians and bureaucrats without adding value to the private sector, or granting any additional protection.[5]

text: Several countries have launched reforms to improve their rankings.[6][7] These efforts are motivated to a great scope by the fact that the World Bank Group publishes the data, and hence coverage by the media and the private sector every year. Also, Doing Business highlights every year the successful reforms carried out by each country. Since The Regulation of Entry was published, Simeon Djankov and Andrei Shleifer have published eight other academic studies, one for each set of indicators covered by the report.

text: In 2013, Doing Business covered regulations measured from June 2011 through May 2012. Over the previous decade, the reports recorded nearly 2,000 regulatory reforms implemented by 180 economies.

text:
Poland was the global top improver in the past year. It enhanced the ease of doing business through four institutional or regulatory reforms, making it easier to register property, pay taxes, enforce contracts, and resolve insolvency.
Worldwide, 108 economies implemented 201 regulatory reforms in 2011/12 making it easier to do business as measured by Doing Business. Reform efforts globally have focused on making it easier to start a new business, increasing the efficiency of tax administration and facilitating trade across international borders. Of the 201 regulatory reforms recorded in the past year, 44% focused on these 3 policy areas alone.
Singapore topped the global ranking on the ease of doing business for the seventh consecutive year, followed by Hong Kong SAR; New Zealand; the United States; and Denmark. Georgia was a new entrant to the top 10.

text: In 2014 Doing Business covered regulations measured from June 2012 through May 2013 in 189 economies.

text:
Singapore is the first economy of the global ranking followed by Hong Kong SAR, New Zealand, the United States, Denmark, Malaysia, South Korea, Georgia, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
For the first time data about Libya, Myanmar, San Marino, and South Sudan were collected.
114 economies adopted 238 regulatory reforms in 2012/13  (the reforms increased of 18% compared to the previous year).

text: In 2015, Doing Business covered regulations measured from June 2013 through June 2014 in 189 economies.[8] For the first time this year, Doing Business collected data for 2 cities in 11 economies with more than 100 million inhabitants. These economies include: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, and the United States. The added city enables a sub-national comparison and benchmarking against other large cities.

text: Research and influence[edit]

text: More than 3,000 academic papers have used data from the index.[9] The effect of improving regulations on economic growth is claimed to be very strong. Moving from the worst one-fourth of nations to the best one-fourth implies a 2.3 percentage point increase in annual growth. Another 7,000 working papers in economics and social science departments use the data from the Doing Business report. The 2016 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics Oliver Hart (economist) is among the authors of such papers.

text: The various sub-components of the index in themselves provide concrete suggestions for improvement. Many of them may be relatively easy to implement and uncontroversial (except perhaps among corrupt officials who may gain from onerous regulations requiring bribes to bypass). As such, the index has influenced many nations to improve their regulations. Several have explicitly targeted to reach a minimum position on the index, for example the top 25 list.

text: Somewhat similar annual reports are the Indices of Economic Freedom and the Global Competitiveness Report. They, especially the later, look at many more factors that affect economic growth, like inflation and infrastructure. These factors may however be more subjective and diffuse since many are measured using surveys and they may be more difficult to change quickly compared to regulations.

text: A November 2017 EconTalk podcast explains the lasting influence in academia and policy circles of the Doing Business report.

text: Doing Business Report[edit]

text: The Doing Business Report (DB) is a report started by Simeon Djankov and elaborated by the World Bank Group since 2003 every year that is aimed to measure the costs to firms of business regulations in 190 countries. The study has become one of the flagship knowledge products of the World Bank Group in the field of private sector development, and is claimed to have motivated the design of several regulatory reforms in developing countries. The study presents every year a detailed analysis of costs, requirements and procedures a specific type of private firm is subject in all countries, and then, creates rankings for every country. The study is also backed up by broad communication efforts, and by creating rankings, the study spotlights countries and leaders that are promoting reforms.[10]

text: The DB has been widely known and used by academics, policy-makers, politicians, development experts, journalists and the business community to highlight red tape and promote reforms. As stated by the IEG study from the World Bank:

text: “For country authorities, it sheds a bright, sometimes unflattering, light on regulatory aspects of their business climate. For business interests, it has helped to catalyze debates and dialogue about reform. For the World Bank Group, it demonstrates an ability to provide global knowledge, independent of resource transfer and conditionality. The annual exercise generates information that is relevant and useful.”

text: According to the DB, regulation does matter for the development of the private sectors, and several reforms are suggested across the report in order to promote the development of the private sector and enable the business environment. Some highlighted findings of the DB are:

text:
Lower barriers to start-up are associated with a smaller informal sector.
Lower costs of entry encourage entrepreneurship, enhance firm productivity and reduce corruption.
Simple start-up translates into greater employment opportunities.

text: Contents[edit]

text: In 2017, the study contains quantitative measures of regulations for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, getting an electricity connection and closing a business. As stated in the introduction of the study, “A fundamental premise of DB is that economic activity requires good rules. These include rules that establish and clarify property rights and reduce the costs of resolving disputes, rules that increase the predictability of economic interactions and rules that provide contractual partners with core protections against abuse.”

text: Evaluation[edit]

text: Doing Business is a controversial study, with passionate critics and devoted fans. As recognized by the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank, some have questioned the reliability and objectivity of its measurements while others doubt the relevance of the issues it addresses or fear it may unduly dominate countries reform agendas at the expense of more crucial development objectives. Attention given to the indicators may inadvertently signal that the World Bank Group values less burdensome business regulations more highly than its other strategies for poverty reduction and sustainable development.

text: According to Snodgrass, several limitations are present in the DB studies and have to be kept in mind when using the study:

text:
The indicators and measures are referred to the costs, requirements and fees of doing business in the country's largest business city; thus conditions elsewhere within the country may differ.
To achieve cross-country standardization respondents are asked to give estimates for a limited liability company of a specific size.[vague] Costs for other forms and scales of businesses may differ.
Transactions and fees to be cost out are very specifically defined. The costs of other types of transactions may differ.
The cost estimates come from individuals identified as expert respondents. Sometimes the estimates give by such individual may differ with other experts and with public officials. If so, the responses are cross-checked for consistency.
The estimates assume that a business knows what is required and does not waste time. Satisfying regulatory requirements will obviously take longer if the business lacks information or is unable to follow up promptly. A related point here is that DB may not understand “work-arounds”, “facilitating fees”, and “learning time” that speed or delay approvals and causes variation costs.

text: Related studies[edit]

text: Published now for twelve years, the DB has originated a growing body of research on how performance on DB indicators, and reforms generated by the reports, related to specific development desirable outcomes. As stated by the DB 2010, about “405 articles have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals and about 1143 working papers are available through Google Scholar”.

text: The DB has acknowledged the limitation of getting data from one city to give information and a ranking valid for all the country. Several regional and sub-national studies have been carried out using the Doing Business methodology to assess variations within countries and regions across different cities, including sub-national studies for countries like Brazil, Mexico and Colombia and regional studies for the Caribbean, the Arab World, Bulgaria and other south eastern European countries. All studies are available from the DB website.

text: DB sometimes unintentionally has been widely used as a study to measure competitiveness. However, regulation rather than competitiveness is the main objective in the DB. Other studies that are also used to measure competitiveness and recognized as business enabling environment ranking systems are the Global Competitiveness Index, the Index of Economic Freedom, and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, among others.[11]

text: Criticism[edit]

text: The Doing Business methodology regarding labor regulations was criticized by the International Trade Union Confederation because it favored flexible employment regulations.[12] In early reports, the easier it was to dismiss a worker for economic reasons in a country, the more its rankings improved. The Employing Workers index was revised in Doing Business 2008 to be in full compliance with the 188 International Labour Organization conventions. It has subsequently been removed from the rankings. The ITUC debuted the Global Rights Index in 2014 as a response to the Doing Business report.[13]

text: In 2008 the World Bank Group's Independent Evaluation Group, a semi-independent watchdog within the World Bank Group, published an evaluation of the Doing Business index.[14] The report, Doing Business: An Independent Evaluation, contained both praise and criticism of Doing Business. The report recommended that the index be clearer about what is and is not measured, disclose changes to published data, recruit more informants, and simplify the Paying Taxes indicator.

text: In April 2009 the World Bank issued a note with revisions to the Employing Workers index.[15] The note explained that scoring for the "Employing Workers" indicator would be updated in Doing Business 2010 to give favorable scores for complying with relevant ILO conventions. The Employing Workers indicator was also removed as a guidepost for Country Policy and Institutional Assessments, which help determine resources provided to IDA countries.

text: A study commissioned by the Norwegian government alleges methodological weaknesses, an uncertainty in the ability of the indicators to capture the underlying business climate, and a general worry that many countries may find it easier to change their ranking in Doing Business than to change the underlying business environment.[16]

text: In June 2013, an independent panel appointed by the President of the World Bank and headed by Trevor Manuel of South Africa, issued a review expressing concern about the potential for the report and index to be misinterpreted, the narrowness of the indicators and information base, the data collection methodology, and the lack of peer review. It recommended that the report be retained, but that the aggregate rankings be removed and that a peer-review process be implemented (among other things). Regarding the topics of Paying Taxes and Employing Workers, it noted that "The latter has already been excluded from the report's rankings. While there is a persuasive case for paying attention to these aspects of doing business, the Bank will need to carefully consider the correct way to assess the regulation and legal environment of these areas if these indicators are to be retained."[17]

text: The Doing Business criteria for measuring the time needed to complete a procedure were based on some simplified assumptions: "It is assumed that the minimum time required for each procedure is 1 day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day (that is, simultaneous procedures start on consecutive days)". These assumptions generated some criticisms especially by countries that were able to complete one or more procedures simultaneously and could therefore be penalized in the final rank.  World Bank claimed that the same criteria are applied to all economies and therefore would not produce biased results. In 2014 the possible biases in applying the DB time indicator were mathematically demonstrated in a scientific article[18] appeared on the Rivista italiana di economia demografia e statistica (Italian Review of Economics, Demography and Statistics - RIEDS).  World Bank partially reviewed the criteria inserting a new assumption for telematics procedures: "each telematics procedure accounts for 0.5 day instead of one day (and telematics procedures can also take place simultaneously)".

text: 2018 manipulation scandal[edit]

text: On January 12, 2018, Paul Romer, the World Bank's chief economist, announced that past releases of the index would be corrected and recalculated going back at least four years. Romer apologised to Chile, saying that the former director of the group responsible for the index had repeatedly manipulated its methodology, unfairly penalising the country's rankings during the administration of left-wing President Michelle Bachelet. In response, Bachelet announced that Chile would formally request a complete investigation by the World Bank.[19][20]

text: Ranking[edit]

text: The most recent rankings come from the "Doing Business 2018" report. Ranking of economies was introduced in the "Doing Business 2006" report.[21]

text: New Zealand has topped the Ease of Doing Business rankings in 2017 and 2018.

text: Singapore topped the Ease of Doing Business rankings in 2007–2016.[22]  Based on Singapore's experience, IDA International is collaborating with public agencies in several countries in the areas such as ICT strategy, national infocomm planning and solutions implementation that can help increase the ease of doing business.

text:
Classification

Jurisdiction

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

Very Easy

 New Zealand
1
1
2
2
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1

Very Easy

 Singapore
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2

Very Easy

 Denmark
3
3
3
4
5
5
5
6
6
5
5
7
8

Very Easy

 South Korea
4
5
4
5
7
8
8
16
19
23
30
23
27

Very Easy

 Hong Kong
5
4
5
3
2
2
2
2
3
4
4
5
7

Very Easy

 United States
6
8
7
7
4
4
4
5
4
3
3
3
3

Very Easy

 United Kingdom
7
7
6
8
10
7
7
4
5
6
6
6
9

Very Easy

 Norway
8
6
9
6
9
6
6
8
10
10
11
9
5

Very Easy

 Georgia
9
16
24
15
8
9
16
12
11
15
18
37
100

Very Easy

 Sweden
10
9
8
11
14
13
14
14
18
17
14
13
14

Very Easy

 Macedonia
11
10
12
30
25
23
22
38
32
71
75
92
81

Very Easy

 Estonia
12
12
16
17
22
21
24
17
24
22
17
17
16

Very Easy

 Finland
13
13
10
9
12
11
11
13
16
14
13
14
13

Very Easy

 Australia
14
15
13
10
11
10
15
10
9
9
9
8
6

Very Easy

 Taiwan
15
11
11
19
16
16
25
33
46
61
50
47
35

Very Easy

 Lithuania
16
21
20
24
17
27
27
23
26
28
26
16
15

Very Easy

 Ireland
17
18
17
13
15
15
10
9
7
7
8
10
11

Very Easy

 Canada
18
22
14
16
19
17
13
7
8
8
7
4
4

Very Easy

 Latvia
19
14
22
23
24
25
21
24
27
29
22
24
26

Very Easy

 Germany
20
17
15
14
21
20
19
22
25
25
20
21
19

Very Easy

 United Arab Emirates
21
26
31
22
23
26
33
40
33
46
68
77
69

Very Easy

 Austria
22
19
21
21
30
29
32
32
28
27
25
30
32

Very Easy

 Iceland
23
20
19
12
13
14
9
15
14
11
10
12
12

Very Easy

 Malaysia
24
23
18
18
6
12
18
21
23
20
24
25
21

Very Easy

 Mauritius
25
49
32
28
20
19
23
20
17
24
27
32
23

Very Easy

 Thailand
26
46
49
26
18
18
17
19
12
13
15
18
20

Very Easy

 Poland
27
24
25
32
45
55
62
70
72
76
74
75
54

Very Easy

 Spain
28
32
33
33
52
44
44
49
62
49
38
39
30

Very Easy

 Portugal
29
25
23
25
31
30
30
31
48
48
37
40
42

Very Easy

 Czech Republic
30
27
36
44
75
65
64
63
74
75
56
52
41

Very Easy

 France
31
29
27
31
38
34
29
26
31
31
31
35
44

Very Easy

 Netherlands
32
28
28
27
28
31
31
30
30
26
21
22
24

Very Easy

  Switzerland
33
31
26
20
29
28
26
27
21
21
16
15
17

Very Easy

 Japan
34
34
34
29
27
24
20
18
15
12
12
11
10

Very Easy

 Russia
35
40
51
62
92
112
120
123
120
120
106
96
79

Very Easy

 Kazakhstan
36
35
41
77
50
49
47
59
63
70
71
63
86

Very Easy

 Slovenia
37
30
29*
51
33
35
37
42
53
54
55
61
63

Very Easy

 Belarus
38
37
44
57
63
58
69
68
58
85
110
129
106

Very Easy

 Slovakia
39
33
29*
37
49
46
48
41
42
36
32
36
37

Very Easy

 Kosovo
40
60
66
75
86
98
117
119
113
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Very Easy

 Rwanda
41
56
62
46
32
52
45
58
67
139
150
158
139

Very Easy

 Montenegro
42
51
46
36
44
51
56
66
71
90
81
70
92**

Very Easy

 Serbia
43
48
59
91
93
86
92
89
88
94
86
68
92**

Very Easy

 Moldova
44
44
52
63
78
83
81
90
94
103
92
103
83

Very Easy

 Romania
45
36
37
48
73
72
72
56
55
47
48
49
78

Very Easy

 Italy
46
50
45
56
65
73
87
80
78
65
53
82
70

Very Easy

 Armenia
47
38
35
45
37
32
55
48
43
44
39
34
46

Very Easy

 Hungary
48
41
42
54
54
54
51
46
47
41
45
66
52

Easy

 Mexico
49
47
38*
39
53
48
53
35
51
56
44
43
73

Easy

 Bulgaria
50
39
38*
38
58
66
59
51
44
45
46
54
62

Easy

 Croatia
51
43
40
65
89
84
80
84
103
106
97
124
118

Easy

 Belgium
52
42
43
42
36
33
28
25
22
19
19
20
18

Easy

 Cyprus
53
45
47
64
39
36
40
37
40
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Easy

 Israel
54
52
53
40
35
38
34
29
29
30
29
26
29

Easy

 Chile
55
57
48
41
34
37
39
43
49
40
33
28
25

Easy

 Brunei
56
72
84*
101
59
79
83
112
96
88
78
N/A
N/A

Easy

 Azerbaijan
57
65
63
80
70
67
66
54
38
33
96
99
98

Easy

 Peru
58
54
50
35
42
43
41
36
56
62
58
65
71

Easy

 Colombia
59
53
54
34
43
45
42
39
37
53
66
79
66

Easy

 Turkey
60
69
55
55
69
71
71
65
73
59
57
91
93

Easy

 Costa Rica
61
62
58
83
102
110
121
125
121
117
115
105
89

Easy

 Mongolia
62
64
56
72
76
76
86
73
60
58
52
45
61

Easy

 Luxembourg
63
59
61
59
60
56
50
45
64
50
42
N/A
N/A

Easy

 Puerto Rico
64
55
57
47
40
41
43
47
35
35
28
19
22

Easy

 Albania
65
58
97*
68
90
85
82
82
82
86
136
120
117

Easy

 Bahrain
66
63
65
53
46
42
38
28
20
18
N/A
N/A
N/A

Easy

 Greece
67
61
60
61
72
78
100
109
109
96
100
109
80

Easy

 Vietnam
68
82
90
78
99
99
98
78
93
92
91
104
99

Easy

 Morocco
69
68
75
71
87
97
94
114
128
128
129
115
102

Easy

 Jamaica
70
67
64
58
94
90
88
81
75
63
63
50
43

Easy

 Oman
71
66
70
66
47
47
49
57
65
57
49
55
51

Easy

 Indonesia
72
91
109
114
120
128
129
121
122
129
123
135
115

Easy

 El Salvador
73
95
86
109
118
113
112
86
84
72
69
71
76

Easy

 Uzbekistan
74
87
87
141
146
154
166
150
150
138
138
147
138

Easy

 Bhutan
75
73
71
125
141
148
142
142
126
124
119
138
104

Easy

 Ukraine
76
80
83
96
112
137
152
145
142
145
139
128
124

Easy

 Kyrgyzstan
77
75
67
102
68
70
70
44
41
68
94
90
84

Easy

 China
78
78
84*
90
96
91
91
79
89
83
83
93
91

Easy

 Panama
79
70
69
52
55
61
61
72
77
81
65
81
57

Easy

 Kenya
80
92
108
136
129
121
109
98
95
82
72
83
68

Easy

 Botswana
81
71
72
74
56
59
54
52
45
38
51
48
40

Easy

 South Africa
82
74
73
43
41
39
35
34
34
32
35
29
28

Easy

 Qatar
83
83
68
50
48
40
36
50
39
37
N/A
N/A
N/A

Easy

 Malta
84
76
80
94
103
102
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Easy

 Zambia
85
98
97*
111
83
94
84
76
90
100
116
102
67

Easy

 Bosnia and Herzegovina
86
81
79
107
131
126
125
110
116
119
105
95
87

Easy

 Samoa
87
89
96
67
61
57
60
61
57
64
61
41
39

Easy

 Tunisia
88
77
74
60
51
50
46
55
69
73
88
80
58

Easy

 Tonga
89
85
78
69
57
62
58
71
52
43
47
51
36

Easy

 Vanuatu
90
84
94
76
74
80
76
60
59
60
62
58
49

Easy

 Saint Lucia
91
86
77
100
64
53
52
53
36
34
34
27
N/A

Easy

 Saudi Arabia
92
94
82
49
26
22
12
11
13
16
23
38
38

Easy

 San Marino
93
79
76
93
81
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Easy

 Uruguay
94
90
92
82
88
89
90
124
114
109
98
64
85

Easy

 Seychelles
95
93
95
85
80
74
103
95
111
104
90
84
N/A

Easy

 Kuwait
96
102
101*
86
104
82
67
74
61
52
40
46
47

Medium

 Guatemala
97
88
81
73
79
93
97
101
110
112
114
118
109

Medium

 Dominica
98
101
91
97*
77
68
65
88
83
74
77
72
N/A

Medium

 Dominican Republic
99
103
93
84
117
116
108
91
86
97
99
117
103

Medium

 India
100
130
130
142
134
132
132
134
133
122
120
134
116

Medium

 Fiji
101
97
88*
81
62
60
77
62
54
39
36
31
34

Medium

 Trinidad and Tobago
102
96
88*
79
66
69
68
97
81
80
67
59
N/A

Medium

 Jordan
103
118
113
117
119
106
96
111
100
101
80
78
74

Medium

 Lesotho
104
100
114*
128*
136
136
143
138
130
123
124
114
97

Medium

   Nepal
105
107
99
108
105
108
107
116
123
121
111
100
55

Medium

 Namibia
106
109
101*
88
98
87
78
69
66
51
43
42
33

Medium

 Antigua and Barbuda
107
113
104
89
71
63
57
64
50
42
41
33
N/A

Medium

 Paraguay
108
106
100
92
109
103
102
106
124
115
103
112
88

Medium

 Papua New Guinea
109
119
145
133
113
104
101
103
102
95
84
57
64

Medium

 Malawi
110
133
141
164
171
157
145
133
132
134
127
110
96

Medium

 Sri Lanka
111
110
107
99
85
81
89
102
105
102
101
89
75

Medium

 Swaziland
112
111
105
110
123
123
124
118
115
108
95
76
N/A

Medium

 Philippines
113
99
103
95
108
138
136
148
144
140
133
126
113

Medium

 Palestine
114
140
129
143
138
135
131
135
139
131
117
127
125

Medium

 Honduras
115
105
110
104*
127
125
128
131
141
133
121
111
112

Medium

 Solomon Islands
116
104
112
87
97
92
74
96
104
89
79
69
53

Medium

 Argentina
117
116
121
124
126
124
113
115
118
113
109
101
77

Medium

 Ecuador
118
114
117
115
135
139
130
130
138
136
128
123
107

Medium

 Bahamas
119
121
106
97*
84
77
85
77
68
55
N/A
N/A
N/A

Medium

 Ghana
120
108
114*
70
67
64
63
67
92
87
87
94
82

Medium

 Belize
121
112
120
118
106
105
93
99
80
78
59
56
N/A

Medium

 Uganda
122
115
122
150
132
120
123
122
112
111
118
107
72

Medium

 Tajikistan
123
128
132
166
143
141
147
139
152
159
153
133
N/A

Medium

 Iran
124
120
118
130
152
145
144
129
137
142
135
119
108

Medium

 Brazil
125
123
116
120
116
130
126
127
129
125
122
121
119

Medium

 Guyana
126
124
137
123
115
114
114
100
101
105
104
136
105

Medium

 Cape Verde
127
129
126
122
121
122
119
132
146
143
132
125
N/A

Medium

 Egypt
128
122
131
112
128
109
110
94
106
114
126
165
141

Medium

 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
129
125
111
103
82
75
75
75
70
66
54
85
N/A

Medium

 Palau
130
136
136
113
100
111
116
120
97
91
82
62
N/A

Medium

 Nicaragua
131
127
125
119
124
119
118
117
117
107
93
67
59

Medium

 Barbados
132
117
119
106
91
88
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Medium

 Lebanon
133
126
123
104*
111
115
104
113
108
99
85
86
95

Medium

 Saint Kitts and Nevis
134
134
124
121
101
96
95
87
76
67
64
44
N/A

Medium

 Cambodia
135
131
127
135
137
133
138
147
145
135
145
143
133

Medium

 Maldives
136
135
128
116
95
95
79
85
87
69
60
53
31

Medium

 Tanzania
137
132
139
131
145
134
127
128
131
127
130
142
140

Medium

 Mozambique
138
137
133
127
139
146
139
126
135
141
134
140
110

Medium

 Côte d'Ivoire
139
142
142
147
167
177
167
169
168
161
155
141
145

Medium

 Senegal
140
147
153
161
178
166
154
152
157
149
162
146
132

Medium

 Laos
141
139
134
148
159
163
165
171
167
165
164
159
147

Medium

 Grenada
142
138
135
126
107
100
73
92
91
84
70
73
N/A

Medium

 Mali
143
141
143*
146
155
151
146
153
156
166
158
155
146

Medium

 Niger
144
150
160
168
176
176
173
173
174
172
169
160
150

Below Average

 Nigeria
145
169
169
170
147
131
133
137
125
118
108
108
94

Below Average

 Gambia
146
145
151
138
150
147
149
146
140
130
131
113
N/A

Below Average

 Pakistan
147
144
138
128*
110
107
105
83
85
77
76
74
60

Below Average

 Burkina Faso
148
146
143*
167
154
153
150
151
147
148
161
163
154

Below Average

 Marshall Islands
149
143
140
139
114
101
106
108
98
93
89
87
48

Below Average

 Mauritania
150
160
168
176
173
167
159
165
166
160
157
148
127

Below Average

 Benin
151
155
158
151
174
175
175
170
172
169
151
137
129

Below Average

 Bolivia
152
149
157
157
162
155
153
149
161
150
140
131
111

Below Average

 Guinea
153
163
165
169
175
178
179
179
173
171
166
157
144

Below Average

 Djibouti
154
171
171
155
160
171
170
158
163
153
146
161
N/A

Below Average

 Micronesia
155
151
148
145
156
150
140
141
127
126
112
106
56

Below Average

 Togo
156
154
150
149
157
156
162
160
165
163
156
151
149

Below Average

 Kiribati
157
152
149
134
122
117
115
93
79
79
73
60
45

Below Average

 Comoros
158
153
154
159
158
158
157
159
162
155
146
144
N/A

Below Average

 Zimbabwe
159
161
155
171
170
173
171
157
159
158
152
153
126

Below Average

 Sierra Leone
160
148
147
140
142
140
141
143
148
156
160
168
136

Below Average

 Ethiopia
161
159
146
132
125
127
111
104
107
116
102
97
101

Below Average

 Madagascar
162
167
164
163
148
142
137
140
134
144
149
149
131

Below Average

 Cameroon
163
166
172
158
168
161
161
168
171
164
154
152
130

Below Average

 Burundi
164
157
152
152
140
159
169
181
176
177
174
166
143

Below Average

 Suriname
165
158
156
162
161
164
158
161
155
146
142
122
N/A

Below Average

 Algeria
166
156
163
154
153
152
148
136
136
132
125
116
128

Below Average

 Gabon
167
164
162
144
163
170
156
156
158
151
144
132
N/A

Below Average

 Iraq
168
165
161
156
151
165
164
166
153
152
141
145
114

Below Average

 São Tomé and Príncipe
169
162
166
153
169
160
163
178
180
176
163
169
123

Below Average

 Sudan
170
168
159
160
149
143
135
154
154
147
143
154
151

Below Average

 Myanmar
171
170
167
177
182
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Below Average

 Liberia
172
174
179
174
144
149
151
155
149
157
170
N/A
N/A

Below Average

 Equatorial Guinea
173
178
180
165
166
162
155
164
170
165
165
150
N/A

Below Average

 Syria
174
173
175
175
165
144
134
144
143
137
137
130
121

Below Average

 Angola
175
182
181
181
179
172
172
163
169
168
167
156
135

Below Average

 Guinea-Bissau
176
172
178
179
180
179
176
176
181
179
176
173
N/A

Below Average

 Bangladesh
177
176
174
173
130
129
122
107
119
110
107
88
65

Below Average

 Timor Leste
178
175
173
172
172
169
168
174
164
170
168
174
142

Below Average

 Congo
179
177
176
178
185
183
181
177
179
178
175
171
148

Below Average

 Chad
180
180
183
185
189
184
183
183
178
175
173
172
152

Below Average

 Haiti
181
181
182
180
177
174
174
162
151
154
148
139
134

Below Average

 Democratic Republic of Congo
182
184
184
184
183
181
178
175
182
181
178
175
155

Below Average

 Afghanistan
183
183
177
183
164
168
160
167
160
162
159
162
122

Below Average

 Central African Republic
184
185
185
187
188
185
182
182
183
180
177
167
153

Below Average

 Libya
185
188
188
188
187
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Below Average

 Yemen
186
179
170
137
133
118
99
105
99
98
113
98
90

Below Average

 South Sudan
187
186
187
186
186
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Below Average

 Venezuela
188
187
186
182
181
180
177
172
177
174
172
164
120

Below Average

 Eritrea
189
189
189
189
184
182
180
180
175
173
171
170
137

Below Average

 Somalia
190
190
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

tag: table

text:
* – same rank is for multiple jurisdictions
** –  the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

text: Note: Rankings at time of annual report publication. Rankings are subject to revision.


document_title: History of Delhi

question_text: the capital of mughal empire was shifted from agra to delhi by

text: History of Delhi

text: Cities of Delhi[edit]

text: It is popularly said that Delhi was the site for a total of seven different cities between 3000 BCE and the 17th century BCE, although taking smaller towns and strongholds into account, as many as 15 settlements can be identified. All the earlier locations of Delhi fall within an area commonly called the 'Delhi Triangle,' bounded on the south and the west by the Aravalli Range, known as the Delhi Ridge, and to the east by the Yamuna River.[6][7]

text: Notable settlements to have been established in the region include:[6][7]

text:
Indraprastha, supposedly built by the Pandavas.
Surajkund (Anangpur), Tomar city dating from the 9th or 10th century, where a large masonry tank can be found.
Lalkot, built ca. 1052 A.D. by the Tomara ruler, Anangpal. In ca. 1180 A.D. Prithviraj Chauhan extended and fortified it as a defence against invaders; the city then became known as Qila Rai Pithora. This area, now called as Mehrauli, was also the seat of the Mamluk (Slave) dynasty.
Siri, first established as a camp for protection against invading Mongols by Alauddin Khalji, and fortified in about ca. 1303 A.D.
Tughluqabad, built by Ghiyasuddin Tughluq in ca. 1320 A.D. A subsidiary fort Adilabad was built by his son Muhammad bin Tughlaq in ca. 1325 A.D.
Jahanpanah, Refuge of the World, name given to the area enclosed by walling-in of the suburbs between Qila Rai Pithora and Siri, built by Muhammad bin Tughluq in ca. 1325 A.D.
Ferozabad, built by Firuz Shah Tughluq in ca. 1354 A.D.; all that remains is the palace, known as Feroz Shah Kotla. Feroz Shah’s building activity indicates that the suburbs were still occupied; major mosques were built inside Jahanpanah (Khirki and Begumpur) and Nizamuddin; and the area around Khalji reservoir Hauz Khas was developed.
Dinpanah built by Humayun and Shergarh built by Sher Shah Suri, both in the area near the speculated site of the legendary Indraprastha (1538–1545).
Shahjahanabad, the walled city built by Shah Jahan from 1638 to 1649, containing the Lal Qila and the Chandni Chowk. It was the capital of the Mughal Empire during Shah Jahan's reign. It is presently referred to as "Old Delhi".
Lutyens' Delhi or New Delhi, the city built by the British on the south-west, declared Capital on 12 December 1911. On 12 December 2011 New Delhi celebrated 100 years of serving as India's National Capital.[8]

text: Modern Delhi, referred to as 'Dilli' locally, derived from its historical name Dhili, is an amalgam all of the above. Officially, however, only seven of the above-mentioned settlements are recognised.[9] as historical cities with distinct identities and indigenous heritage: Qila Rai Pithora, Mehrauli, Siri, Tughlaqabad, Ferozabad, Dinpanah and Shahjahanabad.

text: The rest are not officially identified as Cities of Delhi because of some specific reasons.

text:
Indraprastha, the legendary Ancient City is believed to have been established 5000 years ago (c. 2800 BC), as per the ancient Indian text- the Mahabharata. Though very much a part of India's very Ancient history, it lacks any tangible evidence to say without doubt that it existed. Archaeological evidence exists, but in such scarcity as be inconclusive. As acknowledged by British historian Michael Wood in his BBC documentary The Story of India,[10] the excavated ceramic pottery from the site of today's Purana Qila in Delhi and the excavated layers of the ancient city seem to match what the verses of the Mahabharata indicate. More possible evidence in its favour is the existence of a village named Indraprastha very close to the Purana Qila that was destroyed by the British during the construction of Lutyens' Delhi.[11]
Jahanpanah is not considered as a City of Delhi because it is very much in ruins and too diffused now to be considered a distinct city. Moreover, sections of the city still standing are now counted in Siri or Mehrauli.
Lodi Complex is not counted as a distinct city because their architectures are too few to be counted as a whole city. The Sayyid and Lodhi dynasties that followed the Tughlak dynasty were far more concerned with restoring stability than patronisation of arts or architecture. Tombs erected in the honour of the rulers are the only monuments of these times and these are scattered all over current South and Central Delhis.[12]
New Delhi, the Capital city of modern India is also not counted as a City of Delhi because the structures of those times are still in use as government buildings. So there seems no such thing as "history" about it.

text: Early history[edit]

text: According to Indian folklore, Delhi was the site of the magnificent and opulent Indraprastha, capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata, founded around 3500 BC. It was, one of the five prasthas or `plains', which included Sonepat, Panipat, Tilpat (near Faridabad), and Baghpat.[15] 16th-century, Persian historian, Firishta, recorded a tradition that Delhi or Dilli was founded by a Raja Dhilu before the Yavana (Greek) invasions. However, it should be noted that the kings then referred to the initial Muslim invaders as Yavanas.[15]

text: Hindu texts state that the city of Delhi used to be referred to in Sanskrit as Hasthinapur, which means "elephant-city". The name Delhi may be derived from the word 'Dhillika', though there are other theories. According to Satyarth Prakash (1874) of Swami Dayanand, Raja Dhilu (King Dihlu) founded ancient Delhi in 800 BCE.[16] It was the name of the first medieval township of Delhi, located on the southwestern border of the present Delhi, in Mehrauli. This was the first in the series of seven medieval cities. It is also known as Yoginipura, that is, the fortress of the Yoginis (female divinities). It gained importance during the time of Anangpal Tomar. In the 12th century, the city was included in the dominions of Prithviraj Chauhan.

text: Pasanaha Chariu of Vibudh Shridhar (VS 1189-1230) an Apabhramsha writer, provides the first reference to the legend of the origin of the name Dhilli for Delhi.[17]

text:
हरियाणए देसे असंखगाम, गामियण जणि अणवरथ काम|
परचक्क विहट्टणु सिरिसंघट्टणु, जो सुरव इणा परिगणियं|
रिउ रुहिरावट्टणु बिउलु पवट्टणु, ढिल्ली नामेण जि भणियं|

text: Translation: There are countless villages in Haryana country. The villagers there work hard. They don't accept domination of others, and are experts in making the blood of their enemies flow. Indra himself praises this country. The capital of this country is Dhilli.

text:
जहिं असिवर तोडिय रिउ कवालु, णरणाहु पसिद्धउ अणंगवालु ||
वलभर कम्पाविउ णायरायु, माणिणियण मणसंजनीय ||

text: Translation: The ruler Anangapal is famous, he can slay his enemies with his sword. The weight (of the Iron pillar) caused the Nagaraj to shake.

text: A VS 1383 inscription in Delhi Museum confirms the founding of Delhi by the Tomars:

text:
देशोऽस्ति हरियानाख्यो पॄथिव्यां स्वर्गसन्निभः |
ढिल्लिकाख्या पुरी तत्र तोमरैरस्ति निर्मिता ||

text: Prithviraj Raso also confirms the founding by the Tomars and the legend of the loose nail:

text:
हुं गड्डि गयौ किल्ली सज्जीव हल्लाय करी ढिल्ली सईव |
फिरि व्यास कहै सुनि अनंगराइ भवितव्य बात मेटी न जाइ ||

text: 8th century to 16th century[edit]

text: The Tomar dynasty founded Lal Kot in 736. The Prithviraj Raso names the Tomar Anangpal as the founder of Lal Kot, whose name is inscribed on Iron Pillar of Delhi at Qutb complex, ascribed to Chandra or Chandragupta II.[18] Anangpal Tomar, who, according to historian Augustus Hoernle, was a Rajput [19] ruler of Delhi, often described as the founder of Delhi, built the citadel some 10 kilometres from Suraj Kund.

text: The Chauhan kings of Ajmer conquered Lal Kot in 1180 and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora.

text: The Chauhan king Prithviraj III was defeated in 1192 by Muhammad Ghori.

text: From 1206, Delhi became the capital of the Delhi Sultanate under the Slave Dynasty. The first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, was a former slave who rose through the ranks to become a general, a governor and then Sultan of Delhi. Qutb-ud-din started the construction of the Qutub Minar, a recognisable symbol of Delhi, to commemorate his victory but died before its completion. In the Qutb complex he also constructed the Quwwat-al-Islam (might of Islam), which is the earliest extant mosque in India. He was said to have destroyed twenty-seven Jain temples initially housed in the Qutb complex and pillaged exquisitely carved pillars and building material from their debris for this mosque, many of which can still be seen.[20] After the end of the Slave dynasty, a succession of Turkic Central Asian and Afghan dynasties, the Khalji dynasty, the Tughluq dynasty, the Sayyid dynasty and the Lodi dynasty held power in the late medieval period and built a sequence of forts and townships in Delhi.[21]

text: In 1398, Timur Lang invaded India on the pretext that the Muslim sultans of Delhi were too tolerant of their Hindu subjects. After defeating the armies of Nasiruddin Mahmud of Tughlaq dynasty, on 15 December 1398, Timur entered Delhi on 18 December 1398, and the city was sacked, destroyed, and left in ruins, and over 100,000 war prisoners were killed as well.[22][23] In 1526, following the First Battle of Panipat, Zahiruddin Babur, the former ruler of Fergana, defeated the last Afghan Lodi sultan and founded the Mughal dynasty which ruled from Delhi, Agra and Lahore.

text: 16th century to 19th century[edit]

text: In the mid-16th century there was an interruption in the Mughal rule of India as Sher Shah Suri defeated Babur's son Humayun and forced him to flee to Persia. Sher Shah Suri built the sixth city of Delhi, as well as the old fort known as Purana Qila, even though this city was settled since the ancient era. After Sher Shah Suri’s death in 1545, his son Islam Shah took the reins of north India from Delhi. Islam Shah ruled from Delhi till 1553 when Hindu king Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, also called Hemu, became the Prime Minister and Chief of Army of Adil Shah. Hem Chandra fought and won 22 battles in all against rebels and twice against Akbar's army in Agra and Delhi, without losing any. After defeating Akbar's army on 7 October 1556 at Tughlakabad fort area in Battle of Delhi (1556), Hemu acceded to Delhi throne and established Hindu Raj in North India for a brief period, and was bestowed with the title 'Vikramaditya', at his coronation in Purana Quila, Delhi.

text: The third and greatest Mughal emperor, Akbar, moved the capital to Agra, resulting in a decline in the fortunes of Delhi. In the mid-17th century, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1628–1658) built the city that sometimes bears his name Shahjahanabad, the seventh city of Delhi that is more commonly known as the old city or old Delhi. This city contains a number of significant architectural features, including the Red Fort (Lal Qila) and the Jama Masjid. The old city served as the capital of the later Mughal Empire from 1638 onwards, when Shah Jahan transferred the capital back from Agra. Aurangzeb (1658–1707) crowned himself as emperor in Delhi in 1658 at the Shalimar garden ('Aizzabad-Bagh) with a second coronation in 1659. After 1680, the Mughal Empire's influence declined rapidly as the Hindu Maratha Empire rose to prominence.[24]

text: In 1737, Bajirao I marched towards Delhi with a huge army. The Marathas defeated the Mughals in the First Battle of Delhi.[25][26] The Maratha forces sacked Delhi following their victory against the Mughals. In 1739, the Mughal Empire lost the huge Battle of Karnal in less than three hours against the numerically outnumbered but military superior Persian army led by Nader Shah during his invasion after which he completely sacked and looted Delhi, the Mughal capital, followed by massacre for 2 days, killing over 30,000 civilians and carrying away immense wealth including the Peacock Throne, the Daria-i-Noor, and Koh-i-Noor. Nader eventually agreed to leave the city and India after forcing the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah I to beg him for mercy and granting him the keys of the city and the royal treasury.[27] A treaty signed in 1752 made Marathas the protector of the Mughal throne at Delhi.[28]

text: Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded North India for the fourth time in early 1757. He entered Delhi in January 1757 and kept the Mughal emperor under arrest. In August 1757, the Marathas once again attacked Delhi, decisively defeating Najib-ud-Daula and his Rohilla Afghan army in the Second Battle of Delhi.[29] Thus, the Marathas established full control over the city.

text: In 1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the forces of British East India Company defeated the Maratha forces in the Third Battle of Delhi, ending the Maratha rule over the city.[30] As a result, Delhi came under the control of British East India Company. Between 1836 and 1858, Delhi was a part of what then known as the North-Western Provinces.

text: Delhi passed into the direct control of British Government in 1857 after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The city received significant damage during the 1857 siege. Afterwards, the last titular Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II was exiled to Rangoon and the remaining Mughal territories were annexed as a part of British India.

text: Calcutta was declared the capital of British India but in 1911 at the Delhi Durbar of 1911, held at the Coronation Park, King George V announced the shifting of the capital back to Delhi. Parts of the old city were New Delhi, a monumental new quarter of the city designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens to house the government buildings was inaugurated in 1931 after its construction was delayed due to World War I.[31] New Delhi was officially declared as the seat of the Government of India after independence in 1949. During the Partition of India thousands of Hindu and Sikh refugees from West Punjab migrated to Delhi, and subsequently settled in North and West Delhi areas, while Hindus from East Pakistan, settled in the late 1960s at EPDP Colony (EPDP: East Pakistan Displaced Persons) in South Delhi, later named Chittaranjan Park in the 1980s.

text: Further reading[edit]

text:
Hartcourt, A., Assistant Commissioner Delhi (1873). The New guide to Delhi. Lahore, Victoria Press.
Fanshawe, H. C. (1902). Delhi - Past and Present. London, J. Murray.
Fraser, Lovat (1903). At Delhi (An account of the Delhi Durbar, 1903). Bombay : Times of India Press and Thacker.
Bardiar, Nilendra. Urban, Cultural, Economic and Social Transformation: History of New Delhi 1947-65). New Delhi, Ruby Press & Co. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014.
Hearn, Gordon Risley (1906). The Seven Cities of Delhi. W. Thacker & Co., London.