SCIENTISTS testing food before it’s
eaten, undercover agents lingering on street corners, snipers on
rooftops and five security guards within arm’s reach at any given time.
Welcome to a day in the life of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Staff members at the Hilton hotel where the President stayed during the G20 summit have told news.com.au about the extreme security measures and “intense” preparation that goes into every move the President makes.
RUSSIAN HOME: Putin leaves the G20 Summit
Speaking
after an exhausting weekend, one staff member who didn’t want to be
named said “it was pretty intense but extremely exciting” and took
security measures to a “whole new level”.
Speaking after an exhausting weekend, one staff member who didn’t want
to be named said “it was pretty intense but extremely exciting” and took
security measures to a “whole new level”.
“We put a lot of effort in for all of our guests but when you have
someone high profile, a singer or a racing car driver, a lot more work
goes into those types of people because they have a lot more
requirements. To look after people of this calibre you have to step your
game up a heck of a lot,” the staff member said.
The Hilton
played host to delegates from Mexico and Mauritania as well but it was
the Russian delegation that demanded the most attention, taking up three
quarters of the available rooms with some staff having to bunk together
due to the sheer number of them.
“It was more just the size of it
really, to move 319 people into a hotel in a matter of hours and then
one day you have to move 319 back out, that’s really what it comes down
to,” he said.
“With the roads shut down as they were it didn’t
make things easier for anyone. It was more just the logistics of the
whole situation.”
The hotel had all stations manned 24 hours a day, with staff on hand
to prepare food for the ex-KGB Russian strongman and his entourage.
“We
prepared it in our kitchen and it was taken up to him in the restaurant
or wherever he was dining and it was tasted by someone first to ensure
that it wasn’t poisoned or anything along those lines and then it was
plated up and served,” the staff member said.
Those hoping for a
glimpse in the hotel restaurant were disappointed as all of the leaders
in the hotel opted to dine in their rooms or out at the official events.
Each of the countries also brought their own security detail, with
police staying in the hotel and “undercovers hanging around out the
front”.
“When it comes to it, all these countries have their
security and they don’t want us getting involved with it,” the staffer
said.
“Putin would have had probably four or five people with him
at most times, otherwise he’s always got a main guy that stays with him
all the time. It wasn’t that excessive.”
Despite much-speculation
he left the event early due to international pressure, staff members
said the mid-afternoon departure had been on the agenda the entire time.
“We were never told times but we were always told it was mid-afternoon.”
During the stay workers were warned not to disclose any details to family or friends.
“Our
policy is not to talk about any guests, with them it was exactly the
same. No social media, no telling family, no telling friends. It was
hotel policy but it was also to know who was staying where. None of the
Presidents wanted any information out there as to where they were
staying,” the staffer said.
But despite the massive headache the
operation involved, the worker said he would take the world leaders any
day, with the only other unusual request the large make-up mirror bought
by the Mexican First Lady Angelica Rivera.
“They were easy maintenance. We have more trouble with sporting teams than they did with these guests,” the staff member said.
-News Limited
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