UN Celebrity Spotting – Like Being a Child in a Candy Store
My friend Viggo Cavling has a diary in his news weekly Resumé, in which he simply names all the people he has talked to, or spotted, during the day.
I thought it might be fun to do the same thing – but in my case not from Riche, the Stockholm restaurant where Viggo spends most of his life, but from these days in New York as I cover the 2005 World Summit: High-level Plenary Meeting of the 60th Session of the General Assembly for TT at the UN headquarter.
There are so many heads of states and governments here, but these are some of the people I have seen live, sometimes shaken hands with, or even talked to (hmmm…I have to admit, most of them I have not spoken to in person, but anyway):
Today: Sir Bob Geldof, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Romano Prodi, José Manuel Barroso
Yesterday: Kofi Annan, Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva, Dominique de Villepin
All days: Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Laila Freivalds, UN General Assembly President Jan Eliasson
Well, and lots of other people, too, but these were the ones most likely to be recognized by readers of this blog. I’ll add world politics celebrities as I see them! 
For a former student of international relations like me, to be in the ambiance of all these people speaking about poverty reduction, peace, love and understanding and a better future is like being a child in a toy store or a candy shop.
Also, I’ve taken very nice close up pictures of most of this people – with the exception of Clinton and Rice, because I didn’t bring my camera – too bad I can’t post photos in this blog. My photo of Göran Persson makes him look like a little school boy in the first day in class.
/Gunilla
right now at this event:
Clinton Global Initiative at Sheraton hotel in Midtown
(Right now: Bill Clinton is interviewing Tony Blair, Condi Rice and Prince Abdullah II of Jordania as if this was a talk show! They are all sitting in plush arm chairs discussing the importance of free trade, investing and job creation in poor countries!)
