9/8/2007
SYDNEY : Brown coats.
Displaying varying degrees of comfort, Pacific Rim leaders emerged from beneath the stunning architecture of the Sydney Opera House on Saturday to answer one of the most-asked questions of their annual summit: What will they wear at their group photo?
Led by Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who as host got to pick the get-up, guests including U.S. President George W. Bush, China's Hu Jintao and Russia's Vladimir Putin took the podium and waved for the cameras.
They wore knee-length dark brown overcoats called Driza-Bone, originally fashioned from ship sails and now commonly associated with Outback sheep- and cattle-wranglers called jackeroos.
Driza-Bone was picked by Howard "with counsel and good advice" from his wife Janette, said an APEC statement, to produce an outfit that "captures the essence of Australia's culture and environment."
Leaders were able to choose a flash of color on their lapels, themed for Australia as red ochre and eucalyptus green for the Outback and forests known simply as "the bush," slate blue for the vast coastline, mustard yellow for the sun and sand.
The photo-op each year at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit can be one of the most colorful events in global diplomacy - 21 leaders ditching their staid business suits to don the national dress of the host, which revolves among members.
They paraded last year in silk tunics traditional in Vietnam, and other past costumes have included Chilean ponchos and Indonesian batik shirts. The White House referred to it as the "funny shirts" photo on one of its schedules for Bush's Sydney visit.
Buttoned-up in brown, the leaders took their places on a two-tiered stage in front of the shell-shaped Opera House for early-afternoon photo shoot. Howard beamed. Peruvian President Alan Garcia was distracted by something flying overhead, staring straight up for a long moment.
The leaders faced this way, then that so the bank of dozens of photographers could get a good shot, and held steady waves for about a minute. Except Putin, who made two quick gestures with his hand.
Meanwhile, the leaders' spouses visited Sydney's Taronga Zoo for their own photo session with Nia the baby kangaroo, a blue-tongued lizard and other Outback animals. Zoo volunteers presented each of them with a small stuffed koala as a gift.
Australia has no formal national costume, leaving Howard's choice wide open - and a closely held secret.
In the vacuum, a boisterous debate about what the leaders should wear sprung up in Australian media. Suggestions ran from barbecue aprons to the khaki shirts and shorts favored by "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, the Australian wildlife expert and popular TV host killed almost exactly one year ago in a stingray attack.
As it turned out, Howard's was an appropriate choice. Rain drizzled on Sydney periodically on Saturday, though skies cleared in time for the shoot.
The tradition of wearing clothing symbolic of the host country started at the first leaders' summit, in Seattle, Washington, in 1993. Then-President Bill Clinton asked leaders to dress informally, which to some meant a suit but no tie. The following year,Indonesian President Suharto provided leaders with colorful, open-neck shirts.
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