Multiple demonstrations are planned around the meeting of G20 finance leaders in Asheville, a location that was chosen to highlight Western North Carolina’s recovery from flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.
Activist group WNC Alignment released a schedule of planned demonstrations, including banner drops Aug. 28 from Interstate 240 and Interstate 26 overpasses; a street demonstration on Aug. 29 on Merrimon Avenue; and a community summit on Aug. 30 to grieve what was lost in Helene and celebrate the organizations that made a positive difference in Asheville during the crisis.
Activist Leslie Boyd told the Asheville Citizen-Times on Aug. 25 that Western North Carolina is resilient in spite of the federal government.
“They’ll be celebrating our resilience supposedly, but they’ve done nothing to contribute to it,” she said. “We’re not going to stand here and rail against the G20. We want to celebrate what we’ve done and what we the people here have managed to accomplish with just barely a fraction of what was promised and what’s needed.”
Helene flooding caused around $60 billion in damage statewide and killed more than 100 people.
The federal government has approved, allocated, or awarded approximately $7.8 billion for the recovery from Helene, and that includes money that went to state agencies, as well as direct assistance to individuals, businesses, and local governments, according to a state report on Helene recovery. This federal funding represents approximately 13% of Helene’s damage, according to the report.
Blue Ridge Public Radio reported the federal government issued a purchase order of just over $1 million to cover costs for the G20 meetings at the hotel.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a press releasee that Asheville’s selection for the meetings “reflects the Trump Administration’s commitment to the revitalization and resilience of western North Carolina, which continues to rebuild after the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene.”
Boyd said the protests will be nonviolent and that protestors do not intend to try to approach the venue for the G20 meetings.
Read More: Western NC leaders echo Gov. Josh Stein’s call for more federal Helene relief
“We’re here to celebrate ourselves and to say it’s time for you to pony up and contribute what’s needed,” she said.
Activist Rachel Cohen said that Western North Carolina hasn’t fully recovered from Helene, and that grassroots organizations have done the bulk of the work.
“We really need an economy that prioritizes sustainability and prioritizes working people. We don’t necessarily feel like that’s the priority for these dignitaries that are going to be coming here,” she added.
Political demonstrations planned around G20 meetings are nothing new. In Pittsburgh in 2009, a G20 summit drew around 10,000 protestors, according to Reuters.
What impact will G20 security have on traffic and travel?
Asheville police spokesperson Rick Rice said in a statement Aug. 25 that there are no planned road closures on public streets related to the G20 meetings, but police will work alongside other local law enforcement, emergency management agencies and federal partners to ensure the security of the event.
There will be access checkpoints on the resort property boundaries, Rice said.
Asheville Regional Airport spokesperson Angi Daus said that there are no anticipated disruptions at the airport that would affect the general public.
What is the G20?
The G20, or “Group of Twenty,” was established in 1999 in response to financial crises in the late 1990s, according to G20.org. It comprises 19 of the world’s most advanced economies and the European and African Unions.
G20 member countries address issues such as global financial stability, international economic cooperation, trade and investment,. Meetings occur at various levels, including annual summits attended by national leaders as well as meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors. Participants represent about 85% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population, according to G20.org.
North Carolina will host two of the G20 planning and policy meetings this year, including the gathering in Asheville of finance ministers, central bank governors and their deputies beginning Aug. 29.
The meetings lead up to the G20 Leaders Summit in Miami in December that brings together heads of state and government, such as presidents and prime ministers, “to discuss and coordinate economic policy.”
Previous leaders summits have taken place in South Africa, Brazil, India, Indonesia and more. G20 events in 2026 will be held in the U.S., including Asheville and the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina. Georgia, Florida, Texas and Wisconsin also will host G20 planning and policy meetings.
Reporting by Kara Fohner, Asheville Citizen Times / Asheville Citizen Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
