London's ExCel centre chosen as venue for G20 summit

LONDON (Reuters) - An international summit to seek solutions to the global financial crisis will be held at a conference centre in east London, the Foreign Office said Friday.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the ExCel centre, close to the Canary Wharf financial district, had been selected as the venue for the April 2 event, called "The London Summit 2009."

Security will be intense for the gathering of world leaders, the biggest in Britain since the 2005 summit of the Group of Eight leading powers in Scotland which coincided with suicide bombings on the London transport system that killed 52 people.

The summit will bring together leaders of the world's advanced and emerging economies, including the G20, and representatives of international financial institutions.

Possibly more than 20 countries will take part, a Foreign Office official said.

The meeting is a follow-up to last November's G20 crisis meeting in Washington.

The summit aims to reach agreement on coordinated actions to revive the global economy, on reforming and improving financial sectors and systems and on principles for reform of international financial institutions.

The government has set up a special website for the event (www.londonsummit.gov.uk/en/)

(Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Ron Askew)