and 25 G7 summit review

G7: When the world came to Carbis Bay

In mid-June, seven world leaders arrived in Carbis Bay, something we could not have even imagined this time last year. The G7 summit brought presidential motorcades to a usually quiet village, and there were road closures, police checkpoints and delays.

And yet, the event seems to have largely gone down well with locals, with police coming in for particular praise for the good-humoured way they engaging with the community, especially local children. The police officers, who came from forces all over the country, including the City of London and West Mercia, were equally complementary about the friendly Cornish welcome they received.

Photo: John Chard The politicians saw the best of Cornwall, with fine weather highlighting the wonderful coastal scenery. They visited the Eden Project to meet the Queen, and the best Cornish produce was showcased at a dinner prepared for them by chef Emily Scott. At a more informal evening beach barbecue in front of the Carbis Bay Hotel, they enjoyed a flypast from the world-famous Red Arrows – as did residents and holidaymakers who gathered in groups to get good viewpoints. Many people were also impressed by Britain’s newest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, one of the most powerful ships of its kind ever built, and a constant presence in the bay throughout the weekend.

Away from the serious business, wives and partners got to enjoy their own programme of events and tours. Children at Connor Downs Academy will never forget the day the Duchess of Cambridge brought the US president’s wife, Jill Biden, to meet them, and the school rabbits, too.

Extinction Rebellion activists from St Ives and way beyond had a serious message to send to the world leaders about the need to take immediate action to help save the planet. But their declared intent was to make their point peacefully, with a mixture of pathos and humour – and everyone who watched XR’s demonstrations featuring dead mermaids washed up in the harbour, and politicians re-arranging deckchairs on the beach, will surely agree that they succeeded.

Unfortunately, there has been a Covid spike since the G7 came to town. It’s not certain that the two are connected, although similar rises in cases in the other two G7 centres of Falmouth and Newquay points in that direction. This has raised some critical comments on social media, but hopefully

Photo: John Chard

increases in vaccination, especially among younger people, will drive transmission down.

There’s much talk of legacy. There will, of course, always be lots of well-heeled visitors, but there has also been a considerable spike in property enquiries, which will only drive prices one way.

Public money has been forthcoming from the Town Deal fund, promised after the 2019 election, but there’s a real need for affordable housing, both for local people and also the mass of workers required in local hospitality. With Boris Johnson pledging to address housing issues in Cornwall during prime minister’s questions, we need to be hopeful he’ll follow through on this.

There’s work to do, clearly, but getting St Ives and Carbis Bay in the global spotlight is a good start.