The 2013 Bilderberg Conference took place June 6–9, 2013, at The Grove hotel in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. It was the first Bilderberg Group conference to be held in the United Kingdom since the 1998 meeting in Turnberry, Scotland.[1]
The Grove Hotel
The Daily Telegraph likened the annual conference to "a political version of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which draws members of high society to discuss business and the economy."[1] A British Member of Parliament and former Bilderberg attendee quoted by the Independent on Sunday also likened the annual conference to the World Economic Forum, and said it was "...not that exciting, in fact it's a bit run of the mill".[2]
Around 140 participants are expected to participate in the meetings annually.[3][4] Attendance to the event is by invitation only.[1] No delegates pay to attend the conferences, and no delegates attend by conference phone or satellite.[5] The conference programme never includes entertainment or performances.[5]
The confidential nature of Bilderberg led to criticism of the group's lack of transparency and accountability, along with concerns about potential lobbying.[6][7] Outside the 2013 meeting, Labour MP Michael Meacher said, "If there is any conference which required transparency, which required democratic accountability, it is the Bilderberg conference because this is really where the top brass of Western finance capitalism meet ... including government ministers."[8] Conservative MP Douglas Carswell was also concerned about the privacy of the meetings, by saying "...you would have thought the least our ruling elite could do is discuss these issues in public."[9]
There has also been speculation from conspiracy theorists about the purpose of the meetings.[2] The secretive approach to staging the conferences has led to the younger generation of Bilderberg attendees being uncomfortable with the policy of total media exclusion, as reported by the Independent on Sunday. A previous attendee told the Independent that he sympathised with "those who tell us the confidentiality policy only encourages the conspiracy theorists. It does."[2]
Of the format and outcome of the conference, the Bilderberg website said, "There is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken, and no policy statements are issued."[10]
A Bilderberg Fringe Festival was held near the conference. The festival featured speakers, comedy, music, workshops, arts and entertainment.[11]
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, attended the conference on 7 June.[9] Cameron attended in a private capacity and was not accompanied by civil servants, even though it is customary for the Prime Minister to be accompanied by civil servants when he meets business leaders.[9]
Press coverage
Journalists were banned from attending the event, with the exception of Lilli Gruber,[3] although a press office was provided by the Bilderberg Group. The group is represented by a German corporate communications firm.[5]
A list of key topics for discussion at the 2013 Bilderberg conference was published on the Bilderberg website shortly before the meeting.[10] Topics for discussion included:[10]
"Can the U.S. and Europe grow faster and create jobs?"
"Jobs, entitlement and debt"
"How big data is changing almost everything"
"Nationalism and populism"
"U.S. foreign policy"
"Africa's challenges"
"Cyber warfare and the proliferation of asymmetric threats"
"Major trends in medical research"
"Online education: promise and impacts"
"Politics of the European Union"
"Developments in the Middle East"
Delegates (alphabetical)
For the first time, a list of expected delegates was published by the Bilderberg Group.
A private security company provided security at the hotel; in addition, the Bilderberg Group agreed to contribute toward the policing costs of the event.[1] The local police force, Hertfordshire Police, were in talks with the Home Office about a grant for potential "unexpected or exceptional costs". The grant is provided if the costs threaten the "stability of their policing budget".[1] A combined force of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Cambridge constabularies prepared for the conference, with the assistance of specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police. Five rugby pitches belonging to the Fullerians RFC were hired by police for the duration of the event.[2] The police operation for the Bilderberg conference was called Operation Discuss, and had been running for eighteen months prior to the start of the conference.[14] The cost of policing was revealed after the conference to have been in the region of £1.3 million, with £500,000 having been offered to the police by the Bilderberg Group.[15]
The mayor of Watford, Dorothy Thornhill, said she had concerns that the conference attracted "people who can and do cause violence and disturbance" but she was confident that the police could "minimise that and give them their right to protest".[1] She was also "ambivalent about whether this is a good thing. It's potentially a positive thing as long as things don't kick off."[1]
