Davos 2010: the World Economic Forum in pictures

A worker make final preparations for the Davos World Economic Forum in one of the rooms at the venue
Photograph: Laurent Gillieron/EPA

One of the Swiss hosts receives a briefing
Photograph: Christof Sonderegger/swiss-image.ch

Darkness descends on the village of Davos, where high security measures are in place
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

The conference room gets a final clean
Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Participants queue in heavy snowfall to get into meetings at the Davos forum
Photograph: Anja Niedringhaus/AP

Participants wait to enter the opening session of the annual economic forum
Photograph: Alessandro Della Bella/EPA

A session of the economic forum gets underway
Photograph: Laurent Gillieron/EPA

French President Nicolas Sarkozy appears with World Economic Forum founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab after he addressed the assembly on the opening day
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Movers, shakers and canapes - a typical Davos scene
Photograph: Laurent Gillieron/EPA

India's commerce and industry minister, Anand Sharma, attending a session of the 40th annual forum
Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

A glimpse at the notes of Lars Olofsson, chief executive of supermarket chain Carrefour, during a session entitled: Who is the new consumer?
Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

The chairman of the State Bank of India, Om Prakash Bhatt, at a session of the forum
Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

Evan Williams, co-founder and chief executive of Twitter, attends a session entitled The Growing Influence of Social Networks
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Seats were hard to find at a session on social networks
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, addresses delegates at the Davos forum
Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

The 2010 South Africa World Cup was well represented at Davos, with (left to right) mascot Palaquinha; footballer Mark Fish; President Jacob Zuma, and Lucas Radebe, the former captain of the national soccer team
Photograph: Alessandro Della Bella/EPA

Jacob A Frenkel, chairman of JP Morgan Chase International, speaks during a session entitled The next Global Crisis
Photograph: Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images

A speaker is silhouetted as he addresses a session at the forum
Photograph: Michael Buholzer/Reuters

A session on the Middle East involved (from left) UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar M. Gargash; Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa; Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad; Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Samir Al Rifai, British Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague and honorary chairman Vision 3, Khalid Abdulla-Janahi
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Bill Clinton, former US president and UN special envoy to Haiti, attends a session at the forum
Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

Foreign Secretary David Miliband checks his phone in the hallway at the World Economic Forum
Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt addresses delegates at a session on 'technology for society'
Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

A participant during a session entitled From Copenhagen to Mexico: What's Next?
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Conservative leader David Cameron listens during a plenary session
Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Microsoft founder Bill Gates studies his papers at the Davos forum
Photograph: Michel Euler/AP

Time for a break at the Davos Congress Centre
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, CEO of Nestle, has a drink during a break from the conference
Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Renault-Nissan chairman and chief executive Carlos Ghosn attends a session called 'From Copenhagen to Mexico: What's Next?'
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Jordan's Queen Rania attends a session at the World Economic Forum
Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Klaus Schwab, founder and president of the World Economic Forum blows a vuvuzela during the Davos kick-off for the 2010 Fifa South Africa World Cup
Photograph: Laurent Gillieron/AP

Former South Africa and Leeds United soccer player Lucas Radebe kicks a ball as he is joined by Zakumi, the 2010 World Cup official mascot during the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa Davos kick-off
Photograph: Michael Buholzer/Reuters

Dancers perform in the congress centre before the Davos kickoff for the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa event
Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images

President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent, gestures with a can during a session entitled 'The Gender Agenda: Putting Parity into Practice'
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, pauses before speaking during a session on the Global Economic Outlook
Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

German economy minister Rainer Brüderle gestures during an interview
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet talks during a session called 'Redesigning Financial Regulation'
Photograph: Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images

Pascal Lamy, Director General of the World Trade Organisation
Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Stanley Fischer, governor of the Central Bank of Israel; Pravin Gordhan, minister of finance of South Africa; Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank and Tidjane Thiam, group chief Executive of Prudential arrive for a session
Photograph: Laurent Gillieron/EPA