The 47th G7 summit is set to take place on 11-13 June 2021, with this year’s chosen destination being St Ives in Cornwall. The summit is taking place at the beautiful Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate, an impress 125-acre venue. Nestled right on the Cornish coastline, the collection of world leaders will be able to take in some of the most stunning seafront views and experience Cornish living first-hand.
So why did Prime Minister Boris Johnson - who will be hosting the meet - decide on Cornwall as the right destination for 2021? With it’s majestic surroundings and beautiful coastline, it’s not surprising that the Prime Minister opted to bring the leaders of the world to the Cornish coast. When questioned about why he chose a Cornish site for 2021, the Prime Minister explained that Cornwall is perfectly aligned to some of the G7’s key topics of discussion from 2021 - one of the key topics being living more sustainably - something tha Cornwall and the venue Carbis Bay are very proud of and engaged with.
The G7, an abbreviation of group of seven, is an international organisation consisting of seven of the world’s most advanced economies. Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, United States and the United Kingdom. Each country takes a turn to hold the presidency for one year on a rolling basis. The country holding the presidency will be the host for their allocated year, the 2021 summit is being hosted by the UK. The summit allows these seven nations to meet annually to discuss issues of economic importance and other world issues. At the end of the summit, a clear communication of what has been agreed between the nations is outlined.
What are the key issues being discussed in 2021?
The global pandemic will undoubtedly be one of the key topics to be discussed, looking into how the global issues surrounding social and financial recovery. Climate change is another key discussion point on the agenda, with Boris Johnson explaining how the leaders are aiming to build towards "a greener, more prosperous future".
Who will be attending?
- Justin Trudeau - Prime Minister, Canada
- Emmanuel Macron - President, France
- Angela Merkel - Chancellor, Italy
- Mario Draghi - Prime Minister, Italy
- Yoshihide Suga - Prime Minister, Japan
- Boris Johnson - Prime Minister, United Kingdom
- Joe Biden - President, United States
- Ursula von der Leyen - Commission President, European Union
- Charles Michel - Council President, European Union
Additional attendees:
- Scott Morrison - Prime Minister, Australia
- Narendra Modi - Prime Minister, India
- Moon Jae-in - President, Japan
- Cyril Ramaphosa - President, South Africa
About Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate
Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate has been chosen at the venue - partly due to its efforts towards sustainability and greener living - a key topic for 2021. Set majestically on the coast of St Ives, it’s a beautiful setting and will show leaders from around the world just how stunning the Cornish coast is.
The Carbis Bay Estate is an impressive 125 acres, including a private 25 acre Blue Flag Beach. When not playing host to the world’s leaders, this luxury hotel is available for overnight stays, events and weddings. The estate's main house has 38 individually furnished bedrooms and sea-facing suites. The estate also holds a number of beach lodges that come with their own private hot tub.
The eco-hotel is a powerhouse for innovation, from its on-site energy centre through to its beautiful beach lodges, clad in Kebony Wood, a global leader in sustainable modified wood.
The team at Kebony Wood shared their excitement about having world-leaders staying in a hotel they had contributed to:
"The Carbis Bay Hotel is a truly special project, and a pioneer the United Kingdom. Kebony is incredibly proud to have contributed to the beach lodges and suites, which set a new precedent for eco-conscious commercial developments and we hope the venue will prove a successful location for important discussions on tackling climate change at this year's G7 Summit."
Ahead of the opening of Adam Handling’s new sustainable restaurant Ugly Butterfly - which will be on-site at Carbis Bay Estate - Adam and his team have been honoured to be asked to create sustainability-focused dishes for the leaders to enjoy, whilst overseeing the food offering for the whole summit. The renowned chef is incredibly grateful to be giving a taste of his sustainable food and zero-waste mindset at such an environmentally-focused event. Adam is also in discussions with a number of food waste charities to coordinate the collection of any leftover food from the summit, to ensure it doesn’t go to waste.
Some of the facilities the world leaders would be able to enjoy:
- Private hot tubs
- 25 acre private beach
- A luxury spa
- Seven on-site restaurants
The venue also can arrange bespoke activities including:
- Helicopter trips
- Mountain biking
- Sailing
- Paddle-boarding
- Horse riding
- Ocean safaris
Will Prime Minister Boris Johnson be relaxing in a private hot tub while Joe Biden has a manicure and Justin Trudeau spends the afternoon paddle-boarding? We really hope so, but even if they don’t have time to take advantage of Carabis Bay’s facilities, they will most definitely enjoy the beautiful scenery that St Ives has to offer.
Who else is involved?
The 47th G7 summit is set to be the first carbon-neutral summit to take place, to ensure this, the business improvement and standards company BSI has been selected by the UK Government to ensure best practice is used in preparation and execution of the event to meet the international sustainability standard, ISO 20121.
Working alongside the event organizers, BSI will independently assess the activities, products and services material to the planning of both events including the sustainability measures across their supply chains, the venue facilities, the post-event challenges, such as waste management, and the event’s sustainable transport objectives.
Martin Townsend, Global Head of Sustainability at BSI, said:
“As Covid-19 restrictions are eased and the events industry opens up, a growing societal pressure to demonstrate good practice is being placed on organizations. It is becoming increasingly important to minimize environmental, social and economic impacts and the industry must use this next normal as an opportunity to build back better and make the events they host sustainable, ethical and responsible.
“It is fantastic to see ISO 20121 being implemented against two high-profile, global events. We hope that this demonstrates the UK’s position as a driving force in sustainable events and highlights the importance of incorporating strategies to reduce the environmental impacts of these activities.”
Pietro Foschi, Group Director Assurance Services at BSI, said:
"BSI is committed to making a positive impact by supporting our clients towards the long-term resilience of their organization as well as by achieving the targets we set for BSI Group, subscribing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are delighted to be working with the UK Government on these two world-stage events which adopt world renowned best practices contributing to advance sustainability for society.”
If all this talk of Cornwall has got you dreaming of a break to the Cornish coast then explore our guide to the best restaurants in Cornwall.