Summit organizers are confident it will put the name of Lyon on the world map and regain, if only for three days, the fame the city enjoyed as the Lugdunum capital of Roman Gaul and a wealthy Renaissance trading center. Although the summit will be the fourth in France since the group began meeting in 1975, never before has this elegant city of 1.2 million people straddling two rivers in central France hosted such a mammoth gathering. It will test its facilities as a strategic hub of motorways and high-speed trains between northern and southern Europe. Between talks at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chirac will treat his guests to lunch in the nearby Tete d'Or rose garden and dinner at Leon de Lyon, a renowned restaurant. The Lyon people will be treated to fireworks and a concert featuring U.S. folk star Bob Dylan and French rock star Johnny Halliday.
Organizers plan to make maximum use of existing facilities.
They say the summit will cost less than last year's meeting in Halifax, Canada, and less than half of France's previous G-7 summit, a gala occasion which marked the bicentennial of the 1789 revolution. Live Homepage Part II Feedback Send us your comments. Selected responses are posted daily. External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.