CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
Mayor Emanuel has officially opened the NATO summit Friday night at the Pritzger Military Library.
Emanuel made his remarks just hours after meeting with CPS high school students at Kennedy King College, where they presented international food made in honor of the NATO dignitaries.
All of the dishes at the "Passport on a Plate" event were inspired by countries participating in the summit.
Emanuel was on hand to sample all of the creations.
World leaders began arriving in Chicago Friday afternoon for the NATO summit.
The host committee tells FOX Chicago that tens of millions of dollars in free press is expected to be generated for the city.
"So you'll notice our great lampshades," Chicago NATO Host Committee's Lori Healey said. Yes, there are even special lampshades at McCormick Place this weekend.
Nothing has been left to chance. Those lampshades part of a specially designed media lounge with a moving digital canopy, which will supposedly impress the foreign press.
"It's very innovative and I really think it really reflects where a lot of the companies in Chicago are really cutting edge in the world about coming up with these kinds of technologies," Healey said.
Approximately 2,000 members of the foreign press are also expected to converge on Chicago, many visiting the city for the first time. These reporters, researchers and technicians will fill the hall this weekend.
Among those arriving early are 20 G8 researchers from Canada who say Chicago's a great place for the summit, describing the skyline as "beautiful" and adding that the city is "a joy to walk around."
"Chicago is definitely one of the best choices, I would say," University of Toronto's Enko Koceku said, "because it's a good combination of private sector, opportunities and government. It's a good intersection to have a conference like this."
The president of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, arrived at O'Hare Friday afternoon, followed by Rosen Plevneliev, the president of Bulgaria.
Their McCormick place sessions don't start until Sunday. The focus still expected to be on a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
