Everything You Need to Know About Bilderberg (And More)

World leaders, movers and shakers will descend on the Austrian town of Telfs-Buchen for the annual Bilderberg conference today.

They will meet, amid heightened security, to discuss vital issues of the day concerning Europe and the US.

The guest list of around 140 has been whittled to include senior figures from politics, industry, finance, academia and the media.

Chancellor George Osborne, a regular attendee, is on the roll of honour again this year. His former counterpart, Ed Balls, has also been asked – despite the humiliating loss of his Commons seat during the election.

They will mix with other powerful figures, including former MI6 chief Sir John Sawers, Dutch PM Mark Rutte, Google boss Eric Schmidt, and Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.

On the agenda this year is a wide-ranging – some might say vague – list of topics, including: Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Chemical Weapons Threats, Current Economic Issues, European Strategy, Globalisation, Greece, Iran, the Middle East, Nato, Russia, Terrorism, the United Kingdom, the US and US elections.

But do not expect to hear what their conclusions are.

The events are held under Chatham House Rules, meaning that while participants can use the information received, comments and views should not be publicly attributed to any individual. No minutes are taken of meetings, and no resolutions are proposed.

What exactly is the Bilderberg conference?

Founded in 1954, the conference is an annual meeting designed to foster dialogue between Europe and North America.

The group claims to have been grown out of high-minded concerns that Europe and the US were not working together on “issues of common interest”.

Founders included Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Polish politician Jozef Retinger, and former Labour deputy leader Denis Healey.

The event is organised, and guests chosen, by the Steering Committee, which is made of two individuals from each of approximately 18 nations.

The costs of a "small secretariat" are met "wholly by private subscription", according to the group's official website, while the bill for the conference itself is taken care of by the committee members from the host country.

About two thirds of the participants come from Europe and the rest from North America; approximately one third from politics and government and the rest from other fields.

Anything else?

One of the more outlandish theories about the group holds that it is run by a race of humanoid creatures descended from lizards.

Others have claimed it controls the U.S. Republican Party, the European Union, and wants to create a Fourth Reich.