VIPs get red carpet welcome in Geneva

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Workers prepare for the departure of Wu Bangguo, president of the Chinese parliament, in July 2010 Zouhri Mohammed

Vladimir Putin, Russian prime minister at the time, arrives for the 100th session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva in June 2011 IMAGEZOUHRI

Security and protocol officials prepare for the arrival of India's President Pratibha Patil in October 2010 IMAGEZOUHRI

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) is accompaned by Swiss Vice-President Alain Berset at Geneva Airport after his state visit to Switzerland in January 2017 IMAGEZOUHRI

United States President George W. Bush arrives at Geneva Airport for the G8 Summit in Evian, France, in June 2003 Zouhri Mohammed

Cameroon President Paul Biya and his wife Chantale Biya arrive in Geneva for the Summit of French-speaking Nations in October 2010 IMAGEZOUHRI

Geneva officials prepare for the departure of Wu Bangguo, president of the Chinese parliament, in July 2010 IMAGEZOUHRI

François Longchamp, president of the Geneva government (left), welcomes German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the 100th session of the International Labour Conference in June 2011 IMAGEZOUHRI

View of the "Protocol, reception, protection" photo exhibition on the Quai Général-Guisan in Geneva, April 2018 Zouhri Mohammed Etat de Genève

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Geneva boasts more protocol receptions and international conferences than any other city in the world. A team is dedicated to giving heads of state, princes and top diplomats a special welcome at the airport. A new photo exhibition takes us behind the scenes. 

Last year, Geneva welcomed around 4,700 international VIPs, including 97 heads of state, 44 prime ministers, over 2,000 ministers and nearly 700 royal family members. 

The local authorities boast that there are “more protocol receptions in Geneva than in New York and more international conferences than in any city in the world”. 

In 2016, 2,831 international conferences were held in the city, which is home to the European headquarters of the United Nations and 37 international organisations, such as the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization. 

Photographer Mohammed ZouhriExternal link has been covering the comings and goings of world leaders and diplomats in Geneva for the past 15 years. An exhibition of his work, “Protocol, reception, protectionExternal link”, which runs until May 21 on the Quai Général-Guisan in Geneva, takes us behind the scenes this little-known work of International Geneva officials. 

“This kind of thing doesn’t exist anywhere else,” Zouhri told swissinfo.ch. “It’s a well-oiled machine. They have been welcoming people like this for over 30 years. Everything is timed to perfection.” 

‘Image of Geneva’ 

For François Longchamp, the outgoing president of the Geneva government, Geneva and Switzerland’s expertise in “state politeness” is much more than flawless timing and impeccable protection. 

“It’s also a matter of the sincerity of the looks exchanged and the quality of the introductory speeches,” he says. 

Longchamp hinted at this special diplomatic know-how two years ago in a speech at the opening of a similar photo exhibition. 

“I know, having witnessed complicated situations, that there are highly educated people around the world and others of very poor upbringing who sometimes have very senior positions,” he noted, addressing the Geneva protocol service. 

“You must welcome them all with the same smile, talent and patience. You do so brilliantly and in so doing you carry the image of Geneva – perhaps the most important – as it’s the first thing visitors get when they arrive on the tarmac.”