WEF Davos through the lens

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The WEF logo is seen through a window overlooking the snow-covered resort of Davos in January 2012. Keystone

Daniel Vasella, former chairman of Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis, listens during a panel session in 2013. Keystone

Activists of the Ukrainian feminist nudity group FEMEN clash with Swiss police during a WEF protest in 2012. Keystone

Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, attends a plenary session in 2012 (left) and Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke speaks during a session in 2013. Keystone

People gathering in the Congress Center in January 2011 on the opening day of the 41st annual meeting. Keystone

German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, arrive for a panel session in 2013. Keystone

Cooks prepare food on the opening day of the 2011 meeting. AFP

A sign lies on the ground during a protest (left) and Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz of Columbia University speaks during a session in 2012. Keystone

A Swiss riot police officer during clashes with anti-globalisation protesters at the 2000 World Economic Forum in Davos. Keystone

WEF founder and president Klaus Schwab adjusts his glasses during his welcoming address in 2013. Keystone

British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks to the assembly in 2013. Keystone

William "Bill" Gates, center, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, who announced a $750 million contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria at WEF in 2012. Keystone

A demonstrator stages a protest on the street in Davos during the 42nd annual meeting in 2012. Keystone

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney attends a session in 2012. Keystone

A snowed-in military checkpoint (left) and a worker vacuuming the ground on the first day of the 42nd annual meeting in 2012. Keystone

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde seen on a computer screen while recording a message for social media with a webcam in 2012. Keystone

A Swiss army airman guides an EC 635 helicopter for landing at an army base in Davos in 2013. 3500 soldiers are mobilized to secure the annual meeting. Keystone

Two staffers test the function of the curtain on the main stage the day before the opening of the annual meeting in 2008. Keystone

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swissinfo.ch takes a pictorial peek behind the scenes of the World Economic Forum’s centrepiece annual summit, held every January in snowy in Davos.

Looking back over the past few summits, this gallery reveals some of the famous faces among the 2,500 delegates who have put in appearances over the years.

Some of the more dramatic moments are also captured on camera, plus some of the lesser known aspects that make up the famous event.

Headquartered in Geneva, the non-profit organisation WEF started life in 1971, initially under the name “European Management Symposium”.

Founded by Klaus Schwab, it was originally designed to connect European business leaders to their counterparts in the United States.

The forum took its current name in 1987 as it broadened its horizons to provide a platform for finding solutions to an array of international issues.

But WEF has been derided by critics as being merely a talking shop populated by the very people who caused the financial crash and its subsequent problems.