The WEF annual meeting has an insanely busy schedule. Every day, sessions and debates take place in parallel, and there are even more meetings outside of the official programme. But where do all these people go in the evening to let their hair down? There is only one place to be: Barry’s Piano Bar.
Barry Colson is arguably one of the most important and certainly the most famous people at Davos. In fact, he is so famous that he goes only by his first name.
“Are you going to Barry’s?” is one of the most common things to hear on the Davos promenade every evening.
He comes here every year only for one week of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, having hosted the best parties in town for almost 30 years.
Colson says he remembers how Davos used to be a much smaller gathering, but his parties with live music have always been packed.
When asked what has been the secret behind this amazing success since 1996, Barry says it’s a mix of his guests. You can see the world’s most successful CEOs, politicians, diplomats, decision-makers, journalists and WEF staff members partying together and sometimes even joining Colson.
“When Kevin Rudd was the prime minister of Australia, he came to the bar one night and had a few drinks. And I said, ‘Hey, come on, why don’t we sing Land Down Under together,'” Colson recalled.
“And so I got him to sing and I immediately regretted it. He doesn’t sing at all. But we had a great time that night.”
Colson has many stories like that, but he is very protective of keeping them secret. This, he says, is one of the reasons why he and his piano bar are so popular around Davos: after a few extra busy days of sessions and meetings and intense business networking, the Davos crowd could just go to Barry’s and join him for a song at the piano, no matter what their job title or background is.
When asked what the most popular song he plays while in Davos is, he says that for a long time, it used to be Feel by Robbie Williams.
“During the the ’90s and the early 2000s, Robbie Williams came out with the song Feel. And I don’t know why that song became ‘the’ song. It has just became the song for the forum. People would always ask me for that song.”
But the preferences have changed, he says, and now he is most often asked to play Piano Man.
Rumours swirled that Donald Trump might personally come to Davos this year, so we asked Barry which song he would play for the US president if he came by his piano bar.
“He’ll probably ask me to do YMCA. And hey, if he puts enough money in the tip jar — I might,” Colson laughs as he thinks of the tune he’d choose.
“There is a song, and as soon as that camera is off, I will tell you the song. And if you folks want to find out what song it is, you’ll just have to find out somehow.”
So, if you want to be in the know, the best thing to do is to come to Barry’s piano bar.
And take it from Davos “veterans”: the best parties at Barry’s are on Thursday, right before the world’s movers and shakers leave the Swiss Alpine town until next January.
Additional sources • Video by Lionel Laval