Page "History of Seattle" Paragraph 71

Seattle's bid for the world stage by hosting the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 did not play out as planned.

Instead, the city saw became the site of the first great street confrontation between the anti-globalization movement and the World Trade Organization on November 30, 1999.

While many of those in the streets, and most of those in the suites, were from out of town or even out of country, much of the groundwork of Seattle hosting both the event and the protests against it can be attributed to local forces.