Have you heard about the annual Bilderberg meetings? The name is taken from a hotel in Holland where, back in May 1954, the first meeting took place. According to the official website they grew out of a “concern expressed by leading citizens on both sides of the Atlantic that Western Europe and North America were not working together as closely as they should on common problems of critical importance”.

What characterises them is 1) the broad cross-section of participants, all leaders in their fields, 2) the participants’ shared opinion that there is still a need for Western nations to further develop an understanding and 3) the fact that they are private, thus allowing participants to speak freely.

These 3 factors, together with the shroud of secrecy in which the “Bilderberg Club” is concealed and the traditional lack of coverage in mainstream media, explain why it has become a centre of conspiracy theories... at both extremes of the political spectrum. Some on the left believe the group wants to impose capitalist domination, while others on the right claim it’s behind forcing a world government and planned economy.

The 60th Bilderberg Meeting just finished on Sunday in Chantilly, Virginia, USA. The official list of participants was released beforehand which, together with the website that sets out the agendas for the last 2 meetings held in Spain and Switzerland, are new developments. Formerly everything about the meetings was kept top secret. Indeed, in 2009 Charlie Skelton, a reporter with The Guardian, was arrested, twice, after taking photos of vehicles transporting participants.

Last week security for the meeting was unprecedented. A perimeter of roughly half a mile was set up round the Westfields Marriott hotel, this year’s venue, and all non-Bilderberg guests were reportedly forced to evacuate their rooms. Even so participants, the prominent, powerful and wealthy movers and shakers of the western world, were heckled by hundreds of demonstrators.

But don’t expect to read about the debates because, as admitted on the website, “no resolutions are proposed, no votes taken and no policy statements issued.” The secrecy associated with the meetings is precisely why there’s so much speculation about what’s actually discussed, with some believing the true agenda includes choosing future political leaders (like Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels being selected as the candidate for vice president under Mitt Romney) and plans to impose worldwide population control.

According to Charlie Skelton at The Guardian’s US News blog who just covered this event for the fourth year running, although many budding documentarians were present the only mainstream journalist there was Ben Wolfgang from the Washington Times. CNN was definitely not represented!

J M Leitch is author of The Zul Enigma, a factual futuristic thriller looking back at a cataclysmic event occurring on 21 December 2012, end of the Mayan calendar. 'Like' her author and book pages on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @JMLeitch