that's the whole point. It's officially described as a
private gathering but with a guest list including the heads of European and
American corporations, political leaders and a few intellectuals, it's one
of the most influential organisations on the planet. Bill Hayton has been
trying to find out more.)

(BAND ONE: sinister music)

A few miles outside Washington, lies the Westfields Marriott Hotel, an
exclusive place with some fine golf courses. This weekend it's fully booked
- you can't get a bed or a round of golf. That's because around a hundred
and twenty of the world's most important people are due to be there for this
year's meeting of the Bilderberg group. But not according to the hotel's
management...

(BAND TWO: Westfield Marriot)
Ring tone
"Executive Office"
My name is Bill Hayton from BBC World Service. I just wanted to check,
there's some kind of big event happening at your hotel this weekend. Could
you tell me what it is?
"there's a couple of weddings...."
But there's also a big conference going on as well?
"Not that I'm aware of."
There's nothing being organised by the Bilderberg group then?
"I'm sorry who?"
The Bilderberg group.
"I don't even know who they are."

Neither do most people - but last year this obscure organisation hosted,
among many others, the Chairmen of ABB, France Telecom, ENI and Deutsche
Bank plus several European Commissioners, central bankers, newspaper
editors, the Secretary-General of NATO and the Queens of Spain and the
Netherlands. Plenty of people have alleged that Bilderberg - named after the
Dutch hotel where it had its first meeting in 1954 - is a global conspiracy.
The British journalist Jon Ronson whose book on the subject first brought
Bilderberg into polite conversation, says it's not quite as bad as that -
but interesting nonetheless.

(BAND THREE: Ronson)
"I'm a sort of semi-conspiracy theorist when it comes to Bilderberg because
I think they wouldn't go to that much trouble of having this incredibly
expensive international conference every year and they'd go to all this
trouble to keep themselves out of the press and be really secret and invite
the world's most powerful people if it was just a chat and a game of golf
which is basically what they say it is. So I do think they have some impact
on world affairs but I don't think they have as much of an impact."

But given that subjects such as the future of the European Union, a possible
war in Iraq and the expansion of free trade are all on the agenda, should we
not know a bit more about what's going on? I approached the Bilderberg
office for a comment, but sadly no-one was available. So if your boss has
slipped off for a few days golf this weekend, you might ask him or her if
they've been anywhere near Chantilly, Virginia and if they know what the
future has in store. But then again, they probably wouldn't tell you anyway.

(BAND FOUR: sinister music)

This is Bill Hayton for Europe Today.


Bill Hayton
Europe Region Reporter
BBC World Service
+44 (0)20 7557 1012 (office)
+44 (0)7973 635692 (mobile)

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/europe/neweurope/

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