The World Economic Forum’s online Davos Agenda Summit began on Sunday night with the premiere of a concert filmed during the coronavirus pandemic in different parts of the world and the event will see top global leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking on the state of the world over the next five days.
After a welcome address by WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Shwab, Swiss President Parmelin delivered a special address, followed by the annual Crystal Awards and the premiere of ‘See Me: A Global Concert’.
The concert was presented as a shared expression of trust, connection, and hope and it features orchestras and choirs in Beijing, Drakensberg, Florence, Kabul, Philadelphia, Vienna, and Sao Paulo, with the cellist Yo-Yo Ma and music director Marin Alsop. The concert was filmed on location despite the COVID-19 challenges.
In what could be the first major global summit of the year, the event will see more than 1,000 global leaders, including heads of state and government, CEOs and chairmen of big companies, heads of multilateral organizations as also members of academia and civil society, discuss economic, environmental, social and technological challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The WEF said there would be 15 special addresses from G20 heads of state and government and international organizations during the summit that will continue till January 29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver his address on Thursday.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Petroleum and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, as also business leaders such as Anand Mahindra, Salil Parekh, and Shobana Kamineni would be among other speakers from India.