From drones to cocktails, G7 logistics taking shape with Kananaskis summit 3 weeks away
CBC
With the G7 summit now just three weeks away, Canada is entering the final stages of preparation for a massive domestic security and logistics operation.
World leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump and leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union, are set to gather in Kananaskis, Alta., from June 15 to 17 for talks on climate change, managing rapidly evolving technology and global trade, among other issues.
While the summit itself will be held in Kananaskis, thousands of delegates, journalists and security personnel will be spread out across Calgary and the surrounding region.
Here's what the landscape for this year's G7 summit looks like, with three weeks to go.
Summit venues in Kananaskis, a popular wilderness destination, will be locked down from June 10 to 18. The summit's main venue, at Kananaskis Village, is removed from the public by the mountainous terrain and will be protected by multiple layers of security forces.
A controlled access zone will be in effect from June 10 to 18, and trails, roads and public facilities in the area will be closed or restricted. All access to the zone will require accreditation.
Behind the scenes, officials are hard at work preparing the summit site, said John Kirton, director of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto.
Leaders will meet around a single central table. The tendency for Canada has been to make it an iconic table out of Canadian wood, Kirton said.
Though the hotel will be full of officials, photographers, translators and security officials, the goal is to draw focus away from that, he added.
"The whole idea is to make it seem to the leaders, and produce the reality, of it's them alone sitting in the room," Kirton said.
A spokesperson for the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge declined to speak to specifics, but did say its bar would soon unveil a cocktail program tied to the summit, with one signature cocktail for each G7 nation.
The Calgary International Airport, which is preparing to welcome G7 leaders when they arrive in mid-June, has also begun to outline its security measures.
From June 9 to June 20, the airport will implement restrictions tied to photography, video recording and social media.
"To ensure the safety and security of all participating agencies and attending delegates, the capture, recording and sharing of military aircraft, law enforcement personnel and their operations — via photography, videography or social media — will be strictly prohibited from June 9 to June 20," the airport wrote in a statement.
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