

A sniper stands on the roof of the Congress Center on Jan. 25, on the eve of the WEF annual meeting in Davos. The Swiss resort hosts the WEF from Jan. 26 to 30.

A man walks past the Congress Center in Davos ahead of the World Economic Forum annual meeting on Jan. 24.

Workmen make the finishing touches inside the Congress Center in Davos where the World Economic Forum annual meeting will take place on Jan. 24.

The village of Davos is seen prior to the opening of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Jan. 23. The Swiss resort of Davos hosts the WEF from Jan. 26 to 30.

A car drives past the Congress Center, which reopened last November and can hold up to 5,000 people at a time.

World Economic Forum founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab gestures on Jan. 19, as he speaks with journalists about the WEF annual meeting at forum headquarters in Cologny, near Geneva.

A sniper of Swiss police stands on top of the Congress Center on Jan. 25, in Davos where the World Economic Forum annual meeting will take place. Switzerland has mobilized up to 5,000 soldiers to secure the area surrounding the alpine village of Davos -- where world political and economic leaders are to gather this week -- to protect "the international interests of Switzerland."

Swisss soldiers install fences on Jan. 24, in Davos.

Another Swiss police sniper stands on the roof of the Congress Center on Jan. 25.

Near the main building, a Swiss soldier installs fences on Jan. 24, in Davos.

Staff install a painting inside the Congress Center on Jan. 25.

The World Economic Forum has a lighter side, too. Included in the daunting 110-page program are events called "The Five Senses Experience" and "We Are What We Eat," among other cultural fare. Platon, the British portrait photographer and panelmember in the "Five Senses Experience" lecture, told the New York Times, This looks like one crazy, exciting circus."

A man sweeps the stairs of the Congress Center in Davos.
