DAVOS, Switzerland â€" For a certain crowd, the big topic in Davos this year has nothing to do with Syrian peace talks, cybersecurity issues or other geopolitical gravitas.
The burning question instead was how to get an invitation to Marissa Mayer’s Yahoo party. Or whether it was true that Mary J. Blige would sing at the Google bash. Or, above all, what the tech mogul Sean Parker might be plotting to outdo his blowout last year.
Welcome to the bling and bacchanalian revelry that is what the Davos crowd calls ‘‘nightcaps.’’ Though many of the events have the de facto blessing of the World Economic Forum held here every year, Klaus Schwab, the group’s founder and its chairman, pleads with participants to avoid commercialism.
Official organizers ask planners of the nightcaps to refrain from scheduling events that draw people away from the serious discussions of issues like climate change and income inequality, and to avoid inviting people who are not among the 2,500 officially registered participants.
This year’s World Economic Forum’s motto may be ‘‘committed to improving the state of the world.’’ But the sincerity of that slogan â€" always suspect to some â€" may be increasingly challenged by what some attendees say is a growing number of side events and soirees that have little or nothing to do with the weighty global problems that the gathering aims to address.
Rich Stromback, a technology investor, former pro hockey player and unofficial expert on the Davos party scene, said that until a few years ago most of the people who came to the forum were either participants or support personnel. But now there are more people who do not fall into either category, coming instead to make connections and do deals.
And there’s always the attendees who come to the forum simply because it is the place to be in late January. ‘‘I noticed that last year,’’ he said. ‘‘That crowd had really increased.’’
And the true measure for just how to throw a showstopper was set last year at the “taxidermy†party, hosted by Mr. Parker, the co-founder of the music-sharing site Napster and a force in the growth of Facebook.
A run-down bar on the ski resort’s main drag was completely transformed with stuffed animal trophies, including heads of buffalo shooting laser beams from their eyes. Wine and cocktails flowed. John Legend sang and played the piano. And the guests included Ms. Mayer of Yahoo, Lloyd C. Blankfein of Goldman Sachs and a crown prince or two.
‘‘You’re getting more of these party parties like with Sean,’’ said Mr. Stromback, who was among the guests. ‘‘It’s definitely evolved.’’
Mr. Parker did not respond to requests for comment about plans for this year. People in a position to know, who could not be named out of concern of being uninvited, said Mr. Parker was indeed planning a follow-up this year.
One of the hot invitations this year is from Google, which planned to return to the party scene on Thursday night. Ms. Blige was indeed scheduled to perform, and food was to be prepared by a Michelin-starred London chef, Tom Aikens.
There was no early word on whether Google would, as in past year, offer guests whiffs of flavored oxygen, perhaps as an antidote to the crush of people.
On Wednesday night, the New York investment firm SkyBridge Capital, in partnership with a group of philanthropic oenophiles calling itself the Wine Forum, held its annual party in Davos. More than 100 people swanned about the Piano Bar in the Hotel Europe, refilling glasses of Château Cheval Blanc and Château d’Yquem.
Mr. Stromback, who has been coming to Davos for nine years, acknowledged that he has rarely spent any time inside the Davos Congress Center, where world leaders deliver speeches and experts debate issues like banking overhauls. But he does not criticize the proliferation of deal-making, which is linked to the social scene. The companies whose dues and fees finance the World Economic Forum, he said, ‘‘pay great sums of money to be there and it’s not to party â€" it’s to do business, and entertaining plays a big role in that.’’
Parties, which may be large gatherings in the luxury Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère or small get-togethers in a chalet, provide a setting for top executives to discuss transactions or other issues informally.
Typically, the principals then consummate agreements later in more formal settings. The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, bonded with Sheryl Sandberg at the World Economic Forum in 2008 before hiring her as chief operating officer, according to several reports.
Asked about the proliferation of unofficial parties, the forum acknowledged in an email that ‘‘there are numerous events in Davos that are not under the auspices of the forum.’’
‘‘We have no objections to side-events in general, and most of them are broadly aligned with our trademark approach to promoting multi-stakeholder collaboration,’’ the organization said. ‘‘It is true though, that there are also events that do not necessarily live up to our standards.’’
There is little the forum can do to control people’s free time, in any case. The onslaught of visitors is a bonanza for hotels here, which rent venues for parties and rooms at handsome rates and even sell passes granting access to the premises for people who lack an official forum badge.
Some party sponsors, like Infosys, the big Indian outsourcing company that is a longtime backer of the forum, say they make a conscious effort to avoid excess. This year’s event, to be held Friday evening at the Belvédère, will offer Indian food. ‘‘It’s not a lavish party,’’ B.G. Srinivas, president of Infosys, said in an interview Thursday. ‘‘We have kept it in the spirit of Davos.’’
Still, others do not begrudge the soirees. Hubert Burda, a billionaire German publisher, has been sponsoring a party on the opening night of the forum for 25 years and is a longtime supporter of the official event. The Burda event this week, on Wednesday evening, drew guests including the ubiquitous Ms. Mayer of Yahoo; Victor L.L. Chu, chairman of First Eastern Investment Group and one of Hong Kong’s richest men; and top executives of blue-chip German companies like Deutsche Bank and Lufthansa.
Speaking above an oompah band that provided the musical entertainment, Mr. Burda said he thought it was good that young tech entrepreneurs were coming to the conference. He applauded their success in business and said he had no problem with their parties.
‘‘They are nice boys,’’ Mr. Burda said.
Michael J. de la Merced contributed reporting.
