The thirty-sixth Bilderberg Meeting was held at the Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol, in Telfs-Buchen, Austria on June 3, 4, and 5, 1988. There were 116 participants from 17 European countries, the United States, and Canada. They represented government, diplomacy, politics, business, law, labor, education, journalism, the military, and institutes specializing in national and international studies. All participants spoke in a personal capacity, not as representatives of the governments or organizations to which they belonged. As is usual at Bilderberg Meetings, in order to permit frank and open discussion, no reporting of the conference proceedings took place.
Lord Roll of Ipsden, the Chairman of the Bilderberg Meetings, opened the conference with a welcome to the participants and an exhortation that they remain in attendance for all three days. He stressed the importance of keeping the discussions tightly focused, and encouraged all participants to join in.