A stroll through the past 50 years of InterContinental Geneve s MICE history proves surprising
Almasalla,Gate Arab Tourism News- Dubai – Dubbed “the Geneva annex of the United Nations”, InterContinental Genève hotel was inaugurated in January 1964 and has played host to the most iconic world political figures and influencers since its opening. During its tenure, it has witnessed copious significant encounters that have played an important role in the progress of diplomatic and international relations worldwide. Today, the property is known as one of the most prestigious and historical venues for meetings, conferences and events. The most notorious of which are depicted in the below pictography:
1967 – Civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. at Pacem in Terries II along with Nobel prize winners and delegates for World Peace in the hotel’s conference centre
1973-1974 – Politician Colonel Gaddafi en-route to a meeting with then Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba in a hotel suite
1977 – Former President Jimmy Carter and former Syrian President Hafez El- Assad meet for the Assad-Carter Summit in a private boardroom
990 – Former Chief of African National Congress, Nelson Mandela prior to a press conference following the International Labour Conference
2011 – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a private boardroom
Additional Noteworthy Events at InterContinental Genève
1964 – In its opening year, the hotel hosted side-line conferences and meetings following the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) summit with key members of delegation such as the political figure Che Guevara.
1967 – Former U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey met the American delegation to the Kennedy Round in the conference rooms and suites. (He was the first White House representative on property).
1974 – His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, the Saudi Arabian Minister for Oil (Petroleum) and Mineral Resources and Minister at the Organisation of The Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) organised the annual OPEC General Assembly at the hotel.
1975 – Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation made history with an impassioned plea for peace before the U.N. General Assembly and hosted side-line meetings at the hotel.
1977 – Former U.S. President; Jimmy Carter met then Syrian President, Hafez El Assad to bring peace to the Middle East in the Asad-Carter Summit.
1981 – That year, the hotel hosted many events attended by dignitaries like Olav Palme, former President of the Swedish Democratic Party, Lech Walesa, former Polish ‘Solidarity’ leader, former Japanese Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki and former Venezuelan President Luis Herrera Campins.
1983 – The hotel witnessed the First National Reconciliation Conference who met to restructure Lebanon’s political system.
1985 – Former U.S. Vice President George H.W. Bush attended the UN International Conference with private meetings hosted at the hotel. Additionally, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan met then Soviet General Secretary, Mikhail S. Gorbachev on human rights at the hotel that same year.
1993 – 71 first ladies and royalty like H.R.M Queen Fabiola of Belgium attended the Summit on Economic Advancement of Rural Women hosted at the hotel.
2013 – The hotel hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, his French counterpart Laurent Fabius, British Foreign Minister William Hague, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US State Department head John Kerry who discussed the diplomatic solution to the stand-off between Tehran and the west over its nuclear programme.
