The Group of Seven is an idea that came out of the 1973 OPEC oil shock. The global economic order of the post-war world was breaking down and a flurry of turnover of leaders in Europe and the United States was creating turmoil and uncertainty.
It was originally a finance ministers' meeting of what were supposed to be the major industrialised countries, even if adding Japan seemed to a bit of an afterthought. It only grew into a group of seven with the addition of Canada, largely on the basis it was thought it would be good to include someone else who spoke English.
Summiteering has grown over the decades and without doubt has proved useful from time to time in building personal relationships and for its symbolism at crucial points in history — such as in the US/USSR relationship.
It also proved its worth during the GFC in helping deal with global problems in the international financial system.
And this points to the problems with this year's summit.
Scott Morrison will join Donald Trump at the G7 this year — and it'''s sure to be a circus - ABC News