FLORENCE, ITALY – The Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said today in a letter to the Florentines that he has proposed his hometown of Florence play host to the summit of leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries in 2017.
Florence, as a symbol of Renaissance and rebirth, would be a fitting host city, the city’s outgoing mayor said in a letter officially marking his handover of the local government to new leadership after being sworn in as premier last month.
The Group of Eight (G8) is a forum for the governments of a group of eight leading industrialised countries. The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought together representatives of six governments: France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, thus leading to the name Group of Six or G6.
The summit became known as the Group of Seven or G7 the following year with the addition of Canada. The G7 is composed by the 7 developed wealthiest countries on Earth (as national net wealth) and by the 7 developed wealthiest countries on Earth by GDP, and it remains active despite the creation of the G8. In 1998 Russia was added to the group which then became known as the G8. The European Union is represented within the G8 but could not host or chair summits.
Renzi was in The Hague Monday before a major global summit on nuclear security with heads of the Group of Seven industrialized economies for two days of meetings that will also include intense discussions on Ukraine and Russia’s role in the crisis there. Russia’s membership in the G8 was suspended last week over its annexation of Crimea.