Davos 2024 at a glance

The WEF meetings kept evolving since 1971, and since the 2000s it has grown into this colossal arena for events—transcending the confines of conference halls and transforming this village of 10,000. In today's WEF, Davos' most famous street —the Promenade— is packed with executives from the world's largest corporations.

Shops and houses are rented out to giant brands ranging from Google to Meta, Salesforce, Deloitte, Financial Times and Accenture, virtually turning them into corporate monuments. These luxury venues are used as platforms where a course for the world economy is set and strategic planning takes place for five days straight.

^{A volunteer handing out copies of The Wall Street Journal on the street.}

In other words, Davos is a lot more than your ordinary summit; it is a strategic and visionary statement, and a reflection of experience. Here people are trying to understand not only their business better, but also the world and each other. It is situated at a crossroads of power, influence and transformation as much as it is among snowy peaks.

It would not be wise to ignore the growing concerns about a shift in balance of power and the rise of the AI. The decision in September for the AI House to settle in the most spectacular building on the Promenade was a tangible expression of this shift. The fact that the Financial Times house across the street was virtually derelict while hundreds of people waited in line for the 25-person dinner organized by Sam Altman at Axios house was a very symbolic moment for how AI has conquered Davos.