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All roads lead to Davos
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January 24, 2000: 4:47 a.m. ET
Swiss Alpine village is annual Mecca for the global elite to meet, chat, ski
By Staff Writer Rod Cant
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LONDON (CNNfn) - If it's January it must be Davos and the World Economic Forum, so goes the diary entry for the world's most powerful men and women.
The annual jamboree of the world's movers and shakers is about to kick off again in Davos, and for a week the tiny, but exclusive Swiss mountain village will become the center of the world.
Anyone who's someone will be there, as the big-hitters from the worlds of politics, business and academia congregate for their regular round of chats, speeches and schmoozing.
A pair of 'Bills' and a lot of snow
Most of the big names are regulars, although a few faces change. The most powerful man in the world will be there again, as Microsoft's Bill Gates expounds his vision for the technological future - provided the rural Swiss telecom system allows him to collect his e-mails.
Another Bill, one almost as powerful, will be there too, as President Clinton takes his last bow before the presidential elections in November. The President will hope his trip is not as fraught as Al Gore's in 1999 - a huge snowstorm prevented the Vice President's helicopter from making the journey, and he was forced to abandon his whirlybird for a humble train.
The grandees from the world's biggest companies and assorted politicians from almost every country are prepared to brave the rigors of a Swiss winter for a very good reason: the World Economic Forum is an unrivalled opportunity to meet, socialize and swap ideas in a relaxed environment - in effect a kind of private club for the global elite.
That's not to say everybody is on good terms. It's probably a safe bet that Microsoft's Gates and arch rival Scott McNealy, the CEO of Sun Microsystems, won't be spending a lot of time together swapping industry gossip over coffee.
And it's equally unlikely that Yasser Arafat and Israeli premier Ehud Barak will be indulging in social chit chat in a quiet corner of the expansive conference hall.
But for others, the conference is a chance to network with people from different walks of life, such as soul music legend Quincy Jones, film director Lawrence Kasdan and, bridging the worlds of film and politics, Warren Beatty.
While the great and the good are prepared to make the trek to the Swiss Alps, there are a number of other people who aren't so happy about the gathering. The protesters who so disrupted the Seattle meeting of the World Trade Organization, are threatening to do the same in Davos, although they may find the notoriously efficient Swiss police and security services better prepared than the Seattle PD.
Security is always tight given the presence of so many potential targets, and the Swiss conference guards have no compunction about rigidly enforcing rules, including making illustrious guests stand in the snow until the prescribed time to enter the conference. Preventing disturbances in Davos should be easier because of the isolated geography of the village. However, that didn't stop an anti-establishment group launching several fireworks rockets into the conference center in recent weeks, breaking windows.
Groups linked to the anti-WTO protest in Seattle have asked the Swiss authorities for permission to demonstrate on Jan. 29, the day President Clinton visits the forum. That was refused, with permission given only for a protest on the following day. The authorities' decision is under appeal however, and demonstrators are expected to show up on Jan. 29 whether they have permission or not.
A busy agenda for a busy executive
Demonstrators may be one talking point at the World Economic Forum in Davos, but with so many movers and shakers in one tiny place, the meeting is bound to throw up a multitude of issues, ranging from new technology issues, the impact of globalization on emerging markets and how to better regulate volatile world financial markets, to earnest discussions about how stressed-out CEOs can remain in the best of health.
If that all sounds like too much for the average company boss, political leader or media guru, they can always relax by going skiing - everyone gets a free ski pass in one of Switzerland's most breathtaking ski regions. 
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