Paloma Faith, Prince Andrew and Peter Gabriel: The insane guest list of Davos 2015

Nowhere else in the world can such an eclectic line-up of celebrities rub shoulders than at the World Economic Forum

English singer Paloma Faith (Getty Images)

Davos, for whatever reason, is known as one of the places to see and be seen for celebrities and world leaders alike. Far from being a strait-laced number-crunching event, this year's World Economic Forum sees perhaps the most unusual line-up yet.

The guest list for year's Davos get-together reads like a special collaborative issue between Private Eye, TIME, and Closer magazine. Big-hitters from the worlds of politics and finance, such as Tony Blair, Angela Merkel, Bill Gates and Bank of England governor Mark Carney will be making small-talk over canapes with Peter Gabriel, will.i.am and Prince Andrew. Lucky them.

Here's who's who in the Swiss game of celebrity tombola and exactly why they're there in the first place:

Pharrell Williams

Williams announced his series of Live Earth concerts alongside a slightly bemused Al Gore. The star, who has been a long-time environmental campaigner, told the conference the gigs would mean "[we are] literally going to have humanity harmonise all at once".

Peter Gabriel

He's been a Davos regular since 2004, and the former lead singer and flautist of Genesis hits the distinctly un-rock-n-roll conference to promote his human rights organisation, Witness. We've got everything crossed for a jazz-flute recital.

will.i.am

He's already posted a picture of himself "steady chillin" with Richard Branson, and the Black Eyed Peas frontman is in Switzerland to help promote his new charity. The i.am.angel Foundation aims to boost "education, inspiration and opportunity" by bringing science and technology programmes to underprivileged communities.

Prince Andrew

The Duke of York is set to host a reception for business leaders on Thursday evening. He is currently subject to underage sex claims by 'slave' Virginia Roberts, which Buckingham Palace emphatically deny, and will reportedly be addressing the allegations during Davos.

Paloma Faith and Aloe Blacc

The pop stars are teaming up to perform at an event hosted by Google at the Hotel InterContinental this evening. So, if you're in town tonight and want to watch some corporate bods do a nervous shoe-shuffle to contemporary music, this is the event for you.

Andrea Bocelli

The opera singer isn't up in the Swiss mountains to do "Nessun Dorma", but to collect a prize for making the world a better place through music. The Crystal Award has been given the Bocelli for "promoting and supporting national and international projects that foster the overcoming of such barriers and help them to realise their full potential".

Paulo Coelho

The Brazilian author, who wrote worldwide bestselling book The Alchemist, is at the WEF as a UN Messenger of Peace and Special Adviser for the UNESCO Programme on Spiritual Convergences. He's a regular attendee, so presumably won't find the whole celebrity/political crossover too weird.

Bono?

You can run, but you can't hide. The U2 frontman, worth an estimated £395million, is a long-time regular attendee, so no surprises if he ends up on the news talking about global poverty.