Learn and talk about 2009 G20 London summit, 2009 conferences, 2009 in London, 2009 in economics, 2009 in international relations Pittsburgh Summit, 2009 The 2009 G20 London Summit was the second meeting of the G20 heads of government/heads of state, which was held in London on 2 April 2009 at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre to discuss financial markets and the world economy . [1] It followed the first G20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy , which was held in Washington, D.C. on 14–15 November 2008. [2] Heads of government or heads of state from the G20 attended, with some regional and international organisations also represented. Due to the extended membership it has been referred to as the London Summit. [3] The policing tactics at the event raised some controversy , particularly over the death of Ian Tomlinson .

It was revealed in June 2013 that the Government Communications Headquarters, an intelligence agency of the British government, had intercepted phone calls and monitored computers used by foreign delegates at the summit. Their actions were sanctioned by the British government and intelligence was passed to British government ministers. [4] Contents Agenda[ edit ] As hosts, the British Treasury produced an extended agenda pamphlet proposing the issues to be addressed at the London Summit.

The explicit goal was "to start the process of reform so as to manage globalisation as a force for good in the medium term." [5] Engaging concerted action to counter falling demand and fragile confidence (although different countries have different room for manoeuvre on monetary policy) [5] Developing joint actions to prevent further contagion and support vulnerable emerging and developing markets [5] Working together to address the flaws in the financial and supervisory architecture that crisis has exposed Preparation[ edit ] Leaders of the member countries began to prepare for the London Summit months before the effective date, notably with two official meetings dedicated to that preparation, one held in Berlin , Germany, on 22 February 2009 for European leaders, and another in Horsham , Sussex, United Kingdom, on 14 March 2009 for Finance Ministers . European leaders summit[ edit ] Leaders of the four European Union member countries of the G20, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy along with the two largest European non-members, Spain and the Netherlands , met in Berlin on 22 February 2009 to prepare for the London Summit and to co-ordinate their actions.

[6] The meeting was organised at the initiative of German Chancellor Angela Merkel . The leaders agreed that markets, financial institutions and the wide range of financial assets they create, and hedge funds should be subject to appropriate control. In addition, they called for effective sanctions against tax havens . [7] They also agreed to impose sanctions against countries that intend to undermine their work. Finally, they advocated the doubling of funds available to the IMF. [8] Finance ministers summit[ edit ] Finance ministers and central bankers of the G20 met in Horsham on 14 March 2009 to prepare for the London Summit. To restore global growth as quickly as possible, the participants decided to approve coordinated and decisive actions to stimulate demand and employment. They also pledged to fight against all forms of protectionism and to maintain trade and foreign investments. The members also committed themselves to maintain the supply of credit by providing more liquidity and recapitalising the banking system, and to implement rapidly the stimulus plans. As for central bankers, they pledged to maintain low-rates policies as long as necessary. Finally, the leaders decided to help emerging and developing countries, through a strengthening of the IMF.

To strengthen the financial system, the participants proposed to regulate appropriately all important financial institutions, to register all hedge funds or their managers and to force them to provide appropriate information as to the risks they take. [9] They proposed to implement regulation to prevent the systemic risks and to curb business cycles , including the limitation of the leverage effect , which amplifies cycles. [9] They announced new measures to prevent and resolve crises, through the strengthening of the IMF and the FSF. [9] They agreed to control credit-rating agencies and their compliance with the Code of Conduct of the International Organization of Securities Commissions ; off-balance-sheet vehicles; credit-derivatives market; and non-cooperative territories . [9] Gordon Brown's pre-summit meetings[ edit ] In the weeks before the London Summit, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited several countries on three continents to try to secure backing for his goals at the London Summit. During the trip Brown was forced to re-clarify his position on fiscal stimulus after criticism from the Governor of the Bank of England . While speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg , France, he was challenged by a Member of the European Parliament over his spending plans. He also visited the US, Brazil , Argentina and Chile .

[10] He strongly attacked protectionism saying "One of the messages that must come from next week's summit is that we will reject protectionist countries, we will monitor those countries and name and shame if necessary countries that are not following free trade practices". [11] In the weeks leading up to the London Summit, there had been a growing difference of opinions on the question of implementing further fiscal stimulus . The British and the American leaderships were in favour of another round of stimulus packages to try to stimulate the global economy, while the French and German leaderships remained strongly opposed to such measures because of the increased levels of debt which this would cause. On 26 March 2009 the Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek strongly criticised the economic expansion policies of US President Barack Obama . [12] Attendance[ edit ] Leaders of the G20 countries present at the London Summit (taken before the proceedings on 2 April 2009). G20 leaders began gathering in London on 1 April 2009.

Before leaving for the London Summit, French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested that if a meaningful deal was not agreed France would walk out of the summit echoing the "empty chair" gesture of then-French President Charles de Gaulle in 1965. [13] At a joint press conference in London, Brown and Obama said that suggestions of a rift were exaggerated. [14] Sarkozy attended a separate press conference with Merkel in which both repeated calls for the summit to agree on more stringent regulation of financial markets and restated their firm opposition to further financial stimulus packages. [15] On the evening of 1 April the leaders attended a reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by Elizabeth II . During a photograph she lightly rebuked the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for shouting too loudly in an effort to attract the attention of President Obama. [16] The story was featured heavily in the Italian media, and was used by opponents to lambast Berlusconi. [17] After the palace reception, the leaders dined at 10 Downing Street where the food was cooked by Jamie Oliver . [18] The summit proper began on the morning of 2 April and took place at the Excel Centre in Custom House , east London.

Core participants[ edit ] The following participants of the London summit include the core members of the G20, which comprises 19 countries and the European Union which is represented by its two governing bodies, the European Council and the European Commission , [19] as well as other nations and regional organisations invited to take part. Gordon Brown and Dmitry Medvedev at the front door of the Prime Minister' residence on Downing Street. The security operation, Operation Glencoe headed by Commander Bob Broadhurst , was projected to cost £7.2 million. Six police forces were used during the operation: the Metropolitan Police , the City of London Police , British Transport Police and the forces of Essex Police , Sussex Police and Bedfordshire Police . Furthermore, some units from the Ministry of Defence Police have been used. It is the highest security expenditure in British history. [21] GCHQ interception of foreign politicians communications[ edit ] In June 2013 The Guardian revealed that the intelligence agency of the British government, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) spied on foreign politicians visiting the summit by intercepting phonecalls, emails and monitoring computers, in some cases even ongoing after the summit via keyloggers that had been installed during the summit.

[4] Main article: 2009 G20 London summit protests The summit became the focus of protests from a number of disparate groups over various long standing and topical issues. These ranged from disquiet over economic policy, anger at the banking system and bankers remuneration and bonuses, the continued war on terror and concerns over climate change. Although the majority of the protests and protestors were peaceful, instances of violence and criminal damage led to the use of kettling to contain protestors. Death of Ian Tomlinson[ edit ] Main article: Death of Ian Tomlinson Ian Tomlinson, a newsagent in the City of London , died within a police cordon of the G20 Meltdown protest near the Bank of England. Initially the City of London Police denied that any incident with the police had occurred . However video, photographic and eyewitness evidence was published in the media, and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) confirmed that Tomlinson had been pushed back by police officers minutes before he collapsed and died of a heart attack. Further allegations that Tomlinson had been hit with a baton were supported when additional video footage became public.

The IPCC then later ordered a second post mortem and an independent criminal inquiry, [22] with the second post mortem finding that although "there is evidence of coronary atherosclerosis " it was "unlikely to have contributed to the cause of death" and that "the cause of death was abdominal haemorrhage ". [23] Outcome[ edit ] The London summit was a preliminary step in the process through which the G20 evolved to become "the premier forum for discussing, planning and monitoring international economic co-operation". [24] Financial commitments[ edit ] The G20 leaders reached an agreement which, in principle, provides US$1.1 trillion to various programs designed to improve international finance, credit, trade, and overall economic stability and recovery. There was some dispute about how best to move forward. On one hand, the UK and the US wanted a large financial stimulus. On the other hand, France and Germany wanted stricter financial regulation.

[25] Programs include: [26] US$500 billion increase in the resources pledged by members to the New Arrangements to Borrow, a facility for the IMF to lend money to struggling economies, US$250 billion in pledges to increase trade finance, [27] US$250 billion allocation of special drawing rights (SDR) which give IMF members the right to drawn down foreign currency in a crisis, US$100 billion in commitments for the multilateral development banks to lend to poor countries. Regulation[ edit ] An agreement was also reached to attempt to bring wider global regulation of hedge funds and credit-rating agencies, a common approach to cleaning up bank toxic assets . The G20 leaders also agreed to establish a financial stability forum working with the IMF to ensure wider global co-operation and to provide an early-warning system for future financial crises. No green policies[ edit ] Despite calls for a green new deal from Greenpeace [28] and others and general political hype regarding environmental concerns, none of the US$1.1 trillion stimulus package was allocated for environmental investment, and no other environmental agreements were made.

[29] Decreased influence of the United States[ edit ] One of the general agreements at the London Summit is that there needs to be more government regulations over businesses, and there was a perception that the US would no longer be as dominant as it has been previously. Commenting on the summit, Robert Hormats , vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs International , said "The U.S. is becoming less dominant while other nations are gaining influence." [30] Influence of China[ edit ] The influence of China was very apparent during the G20 with some commentators saying that the G20 was more like a G2 . [31] [32] [33] Original courtesy of Wikipedia: — Please support Wikipedia. This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia . A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. We're sorry, but there's no news about "2009 G20 London summit" right now. Limit to books that you can completely read online Include partial books (book previews) Oops, we seem to be having trouble contacting Twitter Support Wikipedia A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. Please add your support for Wikipedia!

Searchlight Group Digplanet also receives support from Searchlight Group. Visit Searchlight Copyright © 2009-2016 Digparty. All rights reserved. G20 summit: Q&A | Politics | The Guardian The Guardian G20 summit: Q&A What is the G20 London summit and why does it matter? Andrew Sparrow and Matthew Weaver explain Wednesday 25 March 2009 12.11 EDT First published on Wednesday 25 March 2009 12.11 EDT Close What's going on and why does it matter? On Thursday 2 April Gordon Brown is going to host the G20 summit in London. At face value, the aims of the meeting are hugely ambitious and, with the world in recession, the organisers have suggested that this event could make a significant contribution to global economic recovery. It's also important domestically, because the Labour government is trailing badly in the opinion polls and some of Brown's aides believe that a successful summit could boost his political fortunes. Who's coming?

Leaders from 22 countries will be at the summit – not least Barack Obama, who is attending the summit as part of his first visit to Europe (and, apart from a brief visit to Canada, his first trip abroad) as US president. What is the G20? It is a group of countries, like the better-known G7. The G7 group of major industrial countries was formed in 1976. It later expanded to include Russia, becoming the G8. The G20 was set up after the Asian crisis in the 1990s led world leaders to conclude that there ought to be a forum for economic debate including a wider range of countries. It had its first meeting in 1999. It does not have a permanent staff and the chairmanship rotates every year. Britain is in the chair for 2009. There are more details on the G20 website . Who belongs to the G20? The G20 is an organisation for finance ministers and central bankers, who in the past met once a year to discuss international cooperation in finance.

There are 19 countries who are members: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The 20th member is the European Union, which is represented by whichever country holds the EU presidency (currently, it's the Czech Republic). These countries represent 90% of global GDP, 80% of world trade and two thirds of the world's population. The IMF and the World Bank also attend G20 meetings, although technically the London event isn't a normal G20 meeting. What's special about the London meeting? It's not just for finance ministers, and it's not just for the G20. Leaders of all G20 countries are attending, along with their respective finance ministers and central bankers. Two other countries will be there: Thailand, as chairman of Asean (the Association of South East Asian Nations), and Ethiopia, as chairman of Nepad (the New Partnership for Africa's Development).

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, and José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European commisison, are also attending. Because the guest list has been expanded, it's officially known as "the London summit". Has a G20 summit like this ever taken place before? Only once. Last November the G20 met for the first time at leader level, not finance minister level, at a summit in Washington. Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, had been lobbying for the meeting as a response to the global financial meltdown. The London meeting is a follow-up. What happened in Washington? At the end of the summit the leaders published the "Washington declaration" . It said the leaders were committed to taking "whatever further actions are necessary" to stabilise the financial system. Against this background of deteriorating economic conditions worldwide, we agreed that a broader policy response is needed, based on closer macroeconomic cooperation, to restore growth, avoid negative spillovers and support emerging market economies and developing countries. As immediate steps to achieve these objectives, as well as to address longer-term challenges, we will: • Continue our vigorous efforts and take whatever further actions are necessary to stabilise the financial system.

• Recognise the importance of monetary policy support, as deemed appropriate to domestic conditions. • Use fiscal measures to stimulate domestic demand to rapid effect, as appropriate, while maintaining a policy framework conducive to fiscal sustainability. • Help emerging and developing economies gain access to finance in current difficult financial conditions, including through liquidity facilities and programme support. We stress the International Monetary Fund's important role in crisis response, welcome its new short-term liquidity facility, and urge the ongoing review of its instruments and facilities to ensure flexibility. • Encourage the World Bank and other multilateral development banks (MDBs) to use their full capacity in support of their development agenda, and we welcome the recent introduction of new facilities by the World Bank in the areas of infrastructure and trade finance. • Ensure that the IMF, World Bank and other MDBs have sufficient resources to continue playing their role in overcoming the crisis. The leaders also published a 47-point action plan explaining how they would improve the international financial system. It listed proposals under five headings: strengthening transparency and accountability, enhancing sound regulation, promoting integrity in financial markets, reinforcing international cooperation, and reforming international financial instutions. Was Washington a success?

After Washington, the Centre for International Governance Innovation published this verdict : At first sight, the achievements were significant. The very detailed final communique outlined a wide range of commitments on the regulatory front, designated some reform agendas a very high priority, and assigned regulators an urgent timetable to fulfil them ... However, we argue that the policy agenda did not in fact go much beyond pre-existing international initiatives that had recently been developed in more technocratic international bodies. What's going to be different about London? The London summit will build on what was agreed at Washington. But there's one important difference. Any international agreement of this kind needs US support and the Washington summit took place in the final days of George Bush's presidency. Bush's authority at the time was at an all-time low. With a new US president in the White House, the Americans may be more willing to sieze the initiative. In a recent newspaper article , Obama said he wanted the leaders of the G20 to "take bold, comprehensive and coordinated action that not only jump-starts recovery, but also launches a new era of economic engagement to prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again". What do Gordon Brown and his fellow leaders want to achieve?

On the London summit website , the British government has explained what it hopes to achieve : At the summit, countries need to come together to enhance global coordination in order to help restore global economic growth. World leaders must make three commitments: • First, to take whatever action is necessary to stabilise financial markets and enable families and businesses to get through the recession. • Second, to reform and strengthen the global financial and economic system to restore confidence and trust. • Third, to put the global economy on track for sustainable growth. The London summit will take place against the backdrop of exceptionally challenging economic circumstances. But, just as after the second world war visionary leaders laid the groundwork for 30 years of prosperity and growth, built on international economic cooperation, this crisis is also an opportunity. The world's leading economies can come together and lay the foundations not just for a sustainable economic recovery, but also for a genuinely new era of international economic partnership – a global deal, in which all countries have a part to play and all will see the benefits. These aims are very ambitious. But it's worth remembering that, as host of the summit, Brown has an interest in talking up the significance of the event because that boosts his prestige domestically. In other countries expectations appear to be more modest.

Can the summit live up to expectations? That depends on which expectations you mean. There have been suggestions that Brown would like to see the London summit as a modern version of Bretton Woods , the 1944 conference that led to the creation of the IMF and other parts of the architecture of the modern global financial system. The government hints at this comparison in its London summit website statement about what the conference may achieve (see above). As some commentators have suggested , the London summit is unlikely to achieve anything to rival Bretton Woods (which involved 730 delegates from 44 countries negotiating for 22 days). But that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be a failure. The world is facing an unprecedented financial crisis and there does seem to be considerable scope for further coordinated action. Is there a split between the US and Europe? Most countries in recession have agreed on the need to use fiscal stimulus measures (tax cuts or spending increases) to revive their economies. At one stage it looked as if agreement on this would be a key feature of the London summit agreement. But the EU countries are unwilling to spend as much as the US, where the fiscal stimulus is worth around 5% of GDP.

The figures for European countries are much lower (although if the so-called "automatic stabilisers" – ie the increased welfare payments that kick in when European countries are in recession, but which are not paid in the US – are included, the gap between the US and the EU is much narrower). Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said recently: "It is not time to look at more growth measures. I disagree with this idea completely. The existing measures must work." As a result, the leaders will instead focus on areas where there is more agreement, such as global financial reform. When does it start? The fun starts on Wednesday 1 April. The Queen has invited leaders attending the summit to a reception at Buckingham Palace starting at around 6pm. After that, the leaders are going to Downing Street for dinner with Brown. The finance ministers and central bankers are going to another dinner, hosted by Alistair Darling, the chancellor, at Tate Modern. What happens on the day? The summit itself is taking place at the ExCel conference centre in east London. Leaders will start arriving at around 8am. There will be a working breakfast for leaders, and another for finance ministers and central bankers.

Then there will be a plenary session lasting up to three hours. That will be followed by a working lunch for the leaders, and another for the finance ministers and central bankers. They will all get together again for an afternoon plenary. Then Brown will host a final press conference, provisionally timed for 4pm. Can they really decide anything just in one day? No, of course not. At meetings like this, the key deals get negotiated in advance. Much of the work for the London summit was done when G20 finance ministers met earlier this month in Horsham, in Sussex. At the end of that meeting, they issued a communique saying: We have taken decisive, coordinated and comprehensive action to boost demand and jobs, and are prepared to take whatever action is necessary until growth is restored. We commit to fight all forms of protectionism and maintain open trade and investment. The London summit's conclusions will to a large extent be based on what was agreed at Horsham. How many people will be there? Every country has been given 20 delegate passes. Around 2,500 journalists are accredited to attend.

With bodyguards, translators and other officials included, there could be around 3,500 at the conference. How much will it cost? Downing Street has said that the summit will be "modest and businesslike" and officials have estimated that the total cost, including security, will be £19m. The G8 summit at Gleneagles in Scotland cost £80m. Will there be demonstrations? All high-profile government summits are now the target for protesters and the G20 will be no different. With fear and anger about the economic crisis running high large demonstrations are expected. Various rallies are planned to coincide with the summit and the run-up to it . What demonstrations are planned? On Saturday 28 March thousands of people are expected to attend Put People First, a union-backed march from London's Victoria embankment to Hyde Park. On 1 April an alliance of anti-capitalist groups called G20 Meltdown is organising a carnival headed by "Four Horsefolk of the Apocalypse", which will converge in front of the Bank of England. Anarchists are planning to target the second day of the summit at ExCel.

Other groups mounting demonstrations include Climate Camp, the Stop the War Coalition, and Government of the Dead. An alternative summit will be held a few hundred yards from the ExCel centre at the University of East London. Will the protests turn nasty? Police are planning a massive operation but so are the protesters. The organisers claim the protests will be peaceful. But some are intent on causing trouble. The Anarchist magazine Class War has told its readers to "get ready to riot". The G20 leaders will meet in London's Docklands for a crucial summit. But what can it achieve?

Published: 28 Mar 2009 Prime minister says no plan for more fiscal stimulus after investors shun government bonds issue Published: 25 Mar 2009 The prime minister's global tour has not been the triumphant prelude to the G20 meeting, which many thought it would be Published: 25 Mar 2009 Chairman of Treasury select committee pleads with politicians to recognise 'human effects' of recession Published: 28 Mar 2009 Hopes fading for salvation at the G20 summit | World news | The Guardian Close This article is 7 years old For more than a decade, London's Docklands, with its glass and steel skyscrapers, was the pulsating heart of global financial capitalism, the East End postcode with a Wild West atmosphere, where interfering politicians feared to tread. In 11 days' time, 20 of the world's most important leaders will gather here, at the ExCeL Centre, with a mandate to clear up the chaos unleashed by the crunch - and rein in the might of the financiers.

Gordon Brown has trumpeted the London summit as nothing less than a New Deal for the world's crisis-hit economy; one day that will rewrite the rules of financial markets, fix the broken banking system and pull the world back from a new Great Depression. Last week, the International Monetary Fund warned the stakes could not be higher: for the first time since 1945, the global economy as a whole will contract in 2009. "Turning around global growth will depend critically on more concerted policy actions to stabilise financial conditions, as well as sustained strong policy support to bolster demand," the IMF said. The fund sees the current crisis as the most serious since the 1930s, when the US economy contracted by 25% in four years and six million unemployed in Germany led to the rise of Hitler. The devastation of the Great Depression and the ravages of the second world war led to the most radical shake-up of the world's economic system since the industrial revolution. In 1944, the historic Bretton Woods summit created the system of fixed exchange rates that lasted until the 1970s, and the IMF and World Bank, which remain guardians of the global economy today.

In the autumn, the government was hailing the London summit as a 21st-century Bretton Woods, yet Downing Street has already begun rowing back from the early fanfare about rebuilding capitalism - and judging by the communiqué from G20 finance ministers after their summit in Horsham, West Sussex on 14 March, ambitions are now relatively modest. "They're just not tackling the problem of how much of the casino needs to be shut down," says Heiner Flassbeck of Unctad, the UN's trade and development arm, which published a scathing report last week calling for G20 ministers to overturn two decades of "market fundamentalist laissez-faire". Flassbeck said the sub-prime mortgages that triggered the crisis were only one symptom of an out-of-control financial sector; there had also been rampant speculation in markets for commodities, currencies and other assets, which must now be re-regulated.

"Because all these pyramids have collapsed in a very short time, that's why we have seen such a global impact." An early warning that next month's meeting might not meet Brown's grand expectations came when he clashed with other G8 countries, including Italy, about whether it should be called a "G20 summit" at all - hence its official title of the London summit. (This despite unfortunate associations with the ill-fated 1933 London summit of world leaders, which was torpedoed by Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat president newly arrived in the White House with a mandate to revive a US economy deep in slump.) Signs of potential conflict abound: Barack Obama wants the summit to focus on measures that can be taken now to revive growth and create jobs, and will be armed by the latest emergency steps taken by the Federal Reserve to pump trillions of dollars into the US economy. The Europeans worry that policymakers are doing too much in the short term to boost demand and too little in the long term to ensure there is no return to the bubble conditions that created the current crisis.

But calls from Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel for curbs on hedge funds and private equity companies, together with tougher regulations on "toxic" derivative products may be greeted coolly by the Americans. Alistair Darling tried valiantly to paper over the cracks at last weekend's meeting in Horsham. Policymakers pledged to do "whatever it takes", for as long as it takes, to lift the world economy out of recession, while acknowledging that many governments have already taken steps; but back in London, Merkel was reminding Brown that any decisions Germany might take to launch a further fiscal stimulus would be a matter for its parliament in Berlin, not for an international summit. "Leaders talk global, think national," says Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered, though he adds that the lack of substantive proposals after the finance ministers' meeting could mean they are saving the goodies for their bosses. The chemistry between the G20 leaders is hardly warm. Brown spent a decade as chancellor lecturing his continental counterparts about Britain's deregulated financial markets and flexible labour market, and they are determined not to let the prime minister claim credit for saving the world, especially when Britain is going to have one of the deepest recessions.

Forecasts presented to G20 governments by the IMF last week showed UK GDP declining by 3.8% this year and a further 0.2% in 2010. In the US, meanwhile, Obama is struggling to complete his financial team, with Treasury secretary Tim Geithner the only major post at the department confirmed. Geithner, who scraped through his confirmation on Capitol Hill after admitting failing to pay $34,000 in taxes, has since been battered by the political storm over bonuses paid to executives at AIG, and Wall Street's initial lack of confidence in his rescue package. Expectations for what the leaders should achieve are still running high. A mass rally, involving a coalition of more than 100 groups, from churches to trades unions, is planned for next Saturday. Under the banner of "Jobs, Justice and Climate", thousands will march through central London to a rally in Hyde Park, calling for Brown and his fellow leaders to reform international markets, protect vulnerable jobs and support the world's poor through the credit crunch. On 2 April though, a security lockdown will be in place.

Police are on high alert lest the first summit of world leaders to be held in London since John Major hosted the G7 in 1991 become a pitched battle between the security forces and anti-globalisation protesters. With the leaders of rich countries facing intense pressure at home to combat mass unemployment and shore up their embattled financial systems, campaigners are nervous that there will be little will for fresh efforts to help the poor. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director of the World Bank and a former Nigerian finance minister, says more than 50 million people are likely to be plunged into poverty by the credit crunch, as developing countries are starved of resources and volatile commodity prices wreak havoc on exporting countries' public finances. "The story that needs emphasising is how the emerging countries have been impacted by the second and third rounds of the crisis," she says. "The fact is that developing countries should be part of the solution: they did not cause the problem." Simon Maxwell, director of the Overseas Development Institute, says: "If Gordon Brown had his way, extra money would be found. He has provided extraordinary leadership in keeping development high on the agenda. Other countries are much less willing to take development seriously.

Some are saying, 'Don't ask us, because we don't want to embarrass you by saying no'." However, the fact that the G20, rather than the G8, is the forum for these discussions is a recognition of the changing global economy. For decades after the second world war, the leading capitalist economies of western Europe, North America and Japan dominated the scene. They accounted for the lion's share of global output and trade and controlled the IMF and World Bank, promulgating a controversial set of free market policies known as the "Washington consensus". When modern summitry began in the mid-1970s, it involved only six countries - the US, West Germany, Italy, Japan, France and Britain - but the G6 quickly became a G7 with the arrival of Canada. Boris Yeltsin was rewarded for his role in turning Russia into a market economy when he was given a seat in the 1990s, but in recent years the limitations of the G8 have been exposed.

Attempts to discuss currencies and the global economic imbalances have been rendered futile by the absence of China and the oil exporters; the input of China and India have been deemed vital if there is to be progress on climate change; China, India, Brazil and South Africa are all key players in the long-running Doha round of trade talks. Reluctant to cede power and influence, the G8 first came up with an uneasy compromise. It invited five leading developing countries - China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico - to some sessions of the annual summer summit. This G8-plus-5 format, predictably, ruffled feathers in Beijing and New Delhi, and matters came to a head in Japan last year when the top-level Chinese delegation took great offence at being kept waiting for an hour in Hokkaido while the G8 wrapped up private business. So, when George Bush called a crisis meeting after last autumn's financial meltdown, it was clear that the format had to be wider than the G8. It included all five big developing countries together with Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil producer, Argentina, Turkey, Korea and Australia - and the EU took the 20th seat around the table.

While broader and more representative than the G8, the G20 has its critics. Some doubt if a body so diverse can come to any agreement, pointing out that it was hard enough to reach consensus at the G8. Others argue it still excludes the very poorest countries of sub-Saharan Africa - though Downing Street has invited Ethiopia, representing Nepad, the African development coalition, Gabon's foreign minister Jean Ping from the African Union, and Donald Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank. Leaders are expected to promise measures to tackle the immediate crisis, including more resources for the IMF to lend to struggling economies, and help for poor countries unable to finance international trade because of the credit crunch.

Amar Bhattacharya of the G24 Secretariat, which represents low-income countries, says he is encouraged by the progress already made, but it will be crucial to ensure that any promises - on new fiscal stimulus, for example - are carefully monitored: "I think the best way to proceed is to have a very effective monitoring system, so that we can ensure that those locomotives with the most steam are doing the most work." The G20 leaders will also discuss how to regulate international financial markets more effectively, to prevent a crisis on the extraordinary scale of the past two years from happening again. Hedge funds are likely to find themselves facing a stricter regime after 2 April, though details remain sketchy - the finance ministers merely called on them to be more transparent in reporting their positions. Complex assets such as derivatives, and the off-balance-sheet vehicles used by many credit-crunched banks, are also expected to come under closer scrutiny. All G20 leaders also agree something may be needed to rein in the activities of tax havens, not just to stop government revenues being lost, but to throw open the complex and secretive dealings of multinational financial institutions that have used offshore locations to conceal parts of their business from regulators.

However, with several of the most notorious tax havens, including Liechtenstein and Jersey, making grand declarations about their new commitment to openness, there are fears that the will to take tougher action may be absent. Claire Melamed, director of policy at Action Aid, says: "It would be a major missed opportunity if they don't follow through. At the moment, there are quite worrying signs they're not going to." For Brown, much more is at stake than creating international common purpose in the face of economic disaster. The London summit is one of two meticulously planned political moments for Labour to show that, despite Britain's role as home of some of the worst-regulated and hardest-hit financial institutions, the government is part of the solution, not the author of the crisis. Little more than a fortnight after the summit, Darling hopes to use his budget as a new assault on the worsening recession and lengthening dole queues. In October, when Britain's bank recapitalisation plan looked firmer and more decisive than US treasury secretary Hank Paulson's flailing response to the woes of Wall Street, Brown saw his popularity bounce, as he bestrode the world scene.

But with 2 million now unemployed at home, it may take more than even the most successful summit to restore his electoral fortunes. So determined is the government to win the favour of the leaders flying into Docklands that it has passed special legislation to suspend the smoking ban in the vicinity of the ExCeL centre for the duration. But it may take more than a grand international bargain struck in the nostalgic surroundings of a smoke-filled room to save the world economy - or resuscitate the Brown premiership. Larry Elliott looks at nearly 500 years of key political gatherings The field of the cloth of gold The first summit the modern age would recognise as such took place in the summer of 1520 just outside Calais, when Henry VIII crossed the Channel for talks with Francis I. Although it lacked TV cameras and spin doctors, the Cloth of Gold had all the classic features of summitry; it was orchestrated by top officials; it involved more pageantry and feasting than substance; and the show of amity did little to paper over the cracks in the fragile relationship between the two countries. The treaty of Versailles Two months after the end of the first world war, the Allied Powers gathered at Versailles in January 1919.

A mixture of the idealistic plans for a League of Nations and the self-determination of peoples proposed by the US President Woodrow Wilson and the desire for recompense for the damage to France from the devastation on the western front, the conference saddled a dismembered Germany with a massive reparations bill. John Maynard Keynes, part of the UK delegation, warned in his Economic Consequences of the Peace that Versailles was storing up problems for the future. Bretton Woods A quarter of a century later an ailing Keynes had the opportunity to do better, second time round. Two-and-a-half years in the planning, the three weeks of talks at the Mount Washington hotel in New Hampshire in July 1944 were dominated by Keynes, but the real decisions were taken by his American counterpart, Harry Dexter White. Bretton Woods created the International Monetary Fund to oversee a post-second world war system of fixed exchange rates, and the World Bank to help to rebuild the economies of western Europe, but plans for a World Trade Organisation were put on ice for half a century following opposition from the US Congress. Rambouillet Three decades of prosperity came to an end with the oil shock of 1973-74.

The combination of rising unemployment and inflation - stagflation - prompted the French President Giscard D'Estaing to invite five other world leaders for a "fireside chat" at a château just outside Paris. Although modest by later standards, this was the first of the gatherings of world leaders which now take place on a rotating basis each year. Rambouillet had no easy answers to the first recession in the west since the 1930s, but its main themes - avoiding protectionism, energy dependency and boosting growth - will be on the agenda next week. Gleneagles The last big summit of world leaders to be held on British soil, the meeting at the Scottish luxury hotel in July 2005 coincided with - and to an extent was overshadowed by - the 7/7 terrorist bombings in London. Tony Blair shuttled between the summit and Downing Street and, after much arm-twisting, persuaded the G8 to sign up to a package for developing countries that involved debt relief, a £50bn increase in aid and easier access to western markets.

Although Gleneagles was one of only a handful of summits to result in more than a bland communiqué, the G8 has yet to deliver on its promises. Rupert Sturgeon – A Minute on the Clock | The Caterer Rupert Sturgeon – A Minute on the Clock Thursday, March 26th 2009, 0:00 Written by: Gemma Sharkey Rupert Spurgeon is the general manager of Exclusive Hotels’ South Lodge hotel near Horsham, West Sussex, which this month hosted a summit of the G20 global finance leaders amid tight security. He spoke to Gemma Sharkey about the event Caterer How did the summit go? Rupert Spurgeon We were lucky with the weather: the wall-to-wall sunshine really showed the hotel off to its best. The core participants of the G20 – made up of finance ministers and the heads of national banks – all stayed with us. But we also had to host all of the other principal guests, including 500 members of the press and 200 policemen. It was very buzzy. There was constant activity from the members of the delegation and frenetic activity around the meeting room.

We served around 4,500 meals in three days we’d do a fraction of that normally. Caterer What kind of preparations did you make? RS We did a lot of preparation in partnership with Government press officers and the Sussex Police, with whom we carried out detailed contingency planning. The main thing for us was that, even though it was a large operation, we wanted it to appear low-key and relaxed. Caterer Were staff given any special training? RS Yes, we spent quite a long time making sure that everyone was well briefed in accordance with emergency procedures associated with a big event. Fortunately, none was needed. We also spent a lot of time refining the food served, so we could scale up quickly. We called on about 40 extra members of staff from the Exclusive Hotels group to add to our usual 120 employees to be able to cope with the event. In terms of security, everybody needed to go through a screening process the access and the exit of the hotel were controlled and monitored and there was more active surveillance than normal. Caterer Did you get any feedback from the guests? RS Everybody who checked out was extremely complimentary.

Chancellor Alistair Darling took time out on Friday night after the evening meal to speak to our executive chef, Lewis Hamblet, to tell him that the food and the ambience of the evening had been exactly what he wanted. He said they’d thoroughly enjoyed it and felt very relaxed. Caterer What advice would you give to hotels hosting the annual G20 summit in London next month? RS You can’t plan enough for it. All the hours we spent came to the fore and we used our contingency planning for last-minute changes. One of the things we were most proud of was our ability to scale up to accommodate the increase in the numbers of press. We had expected 200-250, but on our busiest day ended up serving 500 instead, which was around 1,000 meals. We had to double the size of our media centre by adding another huge marquee outside alongside the one we’d already put up.

Question: Which Sussex town hosted the G20 Summit in March 2009?
Answer: Horsham