Beirut given summit facelift

Security in the city is very tight

By Kim Ghattas BBC Beirut correspondent

Bumpy roads are being asphalted, long forgotten sidewalks restored and walls given a fresh coat of paint.

The whole capital is buzzing with activity as Beirut gets a facelift to welcome the Arab kings, princes and presidents who will convene on Wednesday for the Arab League summit.

Lebanon is hoping the summit will prove that it is back as a political player and a tourist destination

This is the most important event hosted by the city for decades.

During the 1970s and 80s, Beirut was more synonymous with kidnappings and snipers.

At the beginning of the civil war, in 1975, fighting raged in the seaside hotel district as rival militias fought for control of the area.

But today this is where the Arab leaders will stay, in the glitzy renovated hotels, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Members of some of the delegations have arrived early, perhaps hoping to get a taste of Lebanon before they get down to business.

Landmarks restored

Nowhere is the revival of Beirut more obvious than at the Phoenicia Inter-Continental hotel, where the summit will be held.

Beirut was a war zone for much of the 1980s

A landmark of pre-war Beirut, when Lebanon was the Paris of the Orient, the hotel reopened three years ago.

Today it is again one of the chicest hotels in the city and a favorite of Arabs from the Gulf.

All 462 rooms and suites are booked at the hotel, which will be hosting the largest number of delegations.

We've been preparing for three months ... the summit is a great moment for Beirut

Nada Ghawi, Phoenicia hotel

Several other hotels in the closed-off hotel district have also been fully booked for the delegations, but for security reasons, hotel management will not divulge which heads of state are staying at their hotel.

Nada Ghawi, head of marketing at the Phoenicia hotel, told the BBC: "We've been preparing for three months. We had to go through special training to learn the protocol since we're hosting head of states.

"We are very tired but we are very happy and proud.

"Most of the staff witnessed the reopening of this landmark hotel and now the summit is a great moment for Beirut," she added.

Special requirements

In a cosmopolitan country like Lebanon, where just under the half the population is Christian, changes had to be made to accommodate the Muslim VIP guests.

The city is gradually shaking off its war-torn image

In some hotels pork, which Muslims are prohibited from eating, had to be removed from the menu, and there were some requests to remove all alcohol from the mini-bars in the rooms.

Some heads of state are coming with their cooks, and have asked for rooms with a kitchen.

Security is a major concern and the Lebanese authorities are taking no chances.

About 8,000 soldiers and policemen have been deployed and another 6,000 are on stand-by.

Armoured carriers and anti-aircraft guns have been positioned in the area, which will be off-bounds for the public during the summit.

Hotels are well-prepared for the needs of the delegates

"Most of us have put up beds in our offices at the hotel because of the traffic restrictions," said Ms Ghawi.

At the Beirut International Airport, regular flights are being suspended on Tuesday when all the heads of state are due to arrive.

Nazih Raad, deputy director general of the airport, said: "We have taken all the necessary measures to ensure it all goes smoothly."

This includes having the Iraqis and Kuwaitis park their jets at different ends of the runway.

Peace on the table

Arab summits rarely attract a lot of attention, but with a proposal for peace between Israel and the Arab world in the works, the Beirut summit is likely to be different.

Journalists must undergo rigorous security checks

Organisers were expecting about 1,000 delegates and 600 journalists but instead there will be 2,000 delegates and 1,600 journalists.

With the world watching, Lebanon is hoping the summit will prove that it is back on the Middle East map as a political player and a tourist destination.

Some Lebanese are annoyed about the traffic restrictions while school children are happy because they have given a week's holiday.

But most people here are not yet aware of the scale of the event.

It will probably sink in when all the Arab leaders start arriving and the Lebanese get to see the biggest, 10-hour-long show of Arab private jets landing at their own little airport.