The Latest: Nothing left to chance in WWI ceremony seating

A stand is set up in front the Arc de Triomphe ahead of ceremonies marking the 100th of the end of World War I, Friday, Nov.9, 2018. About 60 leaders will mark Sunday the cease-fire that came on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A Polish Army guard of honor stands next to the monument of the late Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a 2010 plane crash, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, during the official unveiling ceremony being a part of the centennial observances marking 100 years of Polish independence. The photo on the building shows Lech Kaczynski during a military ceremony. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

PARIS – The Latest on commemorations a century after the end of World War I (all times local):

9:30 a.m.

Nothing is left to chance in the seating of world leaders at the Arc de Triomphe commemoration of the end of World War I.

French President Emmanuel Macron will be seated between his wife and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Russian President Vladimir Putin will sit to the left of Brigitte Macron, while President Donald Trump and his wife will be next to Merkel.

Among others facing them Sunday will be the French prime minister, the president of France's legislative body, and Spanish King Felipe VI.

Rain threatens, but all the leaders will be beneath a canopy as they commemorate the moment 100 years ago when the slaughter of World War I finally stopped.

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9 a.m.

Poland is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its rebirth as an independent state with a multitude of events across the country, including marches and the national hymn being sung publicly in more than 600 towns.

Poland regained its independence at the end of World War I in 1918, reborn from the ashes of three defeated powers that had partitioned and ruled the Central European nation for 123 years.

The ceremonies in Poland coincide with world leaders gathering in Paris on Sunday to mark the armistice of what was then called the Great War.

Poland's regained independence fulfilled the dreams of generations of patriots who had kept the language and culture alive despite foreign rule and repression. Yet Poland was to be invaded and occupied yet again in the 20th century

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8:50 a.m.

Commemorations are underway around the world to mark the moment 100 years ago when the slaughter of World War I finally stopped.

France, the epicenter of the first global conflict, was hosting the main international commemoration, pressing home the point that the world mustn't stumble into war again, as it did so quickly and catastrophically with World War II

The more than 60 world leaders scheduled to gather at precisely 11 a.m., a century after the cease-fire, included those with the power to destroy humanity if it ever stumbled into the folly of a World War III.

The U.S. and Russian presidents were being joined by an array of leaders whose geographical spread showed how the "war to end all wars" left few corners of the globe untouched.