Bureaucratic who's who lining up for gala night

A veritable alphabet soup of organisations will be in Hong Kong for the handover ceremony.

The who's who of the international bureaucracy might be faceless names to most people but Hong Kong officials insist they are important enough to warrant a sought-after invitation.

At the top of the list will be United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whose acceptance was confirmed yesterday.

Among the 31 international organisations which China and Britain have agreed to invite to the midnight ceremony are the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Asian Development Bank.

A government official said the invitations were warranted because the bodies had played a role in the territory.

'These are all international organisations in which Hong Kong's future participation has been agreed.' Lining up with the heads of these organisations will be chiefs of the World Meteorological Organisation, World Intellectual Property Organisation, International Labour Organisation, International Monetary Fund and Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation.