Bilderberg Meeting Begins in Sweden

Big names from the worlds of politics, tech, and finance are gathering for the 71st meeting of the secretive group in Stockholm.

A Swedish flag flutters in Stockholm on April 4, 2020. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images

The annual Bilderberg Meeting begins in Stockholm on Thursday.

It is the 71st meeting of the secretive group, which comprises elites from the spheres of politics, tech, business, finance, and the military, and will run from June 12 to 15 in the Swedish capital.

The event takes its name from the location of its first meeting in 1954, the Hotel de Bilderberg in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands.

Unlike similar events, such as the World Economic Forum’s annual get-together in Davos, Switzerland, no media are invited to cover what goes on during the meeting, and attendees themselves tend to remain tight-lipped about what has been said behind the conference’s closed doors.

This culture of secrecy has given rise to a number of conspiracy theories about the group, including that Bilderberg attendees were behind the creation of the European Union and the invasion of Iraq.

Among the attendees at this year’s event are NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte, American billionaire businessman Peter Thiel, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, and Christopher Donahue, commander of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa, according to a list provided by the organizers.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is also due to give a speech to the meeting “on Sweden’s and the EU’s competitiveness and Sweden’s support for Ukraine,” his spokesperson said.

According to the Bilderberg website, around two-thirds of the participants are European, with the rest hailing from North America.

Around a third are involved in politics and government, with the remainder having a background in other fields.

Among the topics scheduled for discussion are Trans-Atlantic relations, the Russia–Ukraine war, the U.S. economy, artificial intelligence, depopulation and migration, the “Authoritarian Axis,” and the geopolitics of energy and critical minerals.

There is limited other information about the event as the meetings are held under the “Chatham House Rule,“ named after the international affairs think tank in London, which states: ”When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.”

The organizers say that this privacy allows participants to take part as individuals rather than in their official capacities, meaning they are not bound by any office they may hold or previous publicly stated positions on the issues for discussion.

“There is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken, and no policy statements are issued,” the event’s website reads.

The website further states that the meeting’s main goal is to “foster discussion and dialogue.”

“There is no desired outcome, there is no closing statement, there are no resolutions proposed or votes taken, and the Meeting does not support any political party or viewpoint,” it adds.

The event is led by a steering committee of 30, which is currently co-chaired by French businessman Henri de Castries and Canadian philanthropist Marie-Josée Drouin.

It has met at least once a year, every year except three, since 1954.

The 1976 meeting was canceled due to a bribery scandal involving its founding chairman, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.

The 2020 and 2021 meetings were also skipped due to travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reuters contributed to this report.