GZERO World Clips
Explaining: the history of the UN headquarters

The History of the UN Headquarters | GZERO World

Before it became the headquarters of global cooperation, the site of the UN headquarters in New York was known for its foul smell. That's because slaughterhouses lined the block.
The UN buildings were designed by 11 architects and built in 1947 for the equivalent of $130.2 million in today's money. The territory belongs to no government, and it has its own police force, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.
UN headquarters also features the famous Hall or Flags or the huge General Assembly Hall, where South Korean boy band BTS performed last year, and a first-rate art collection.
Global conflict was at a record high in 2025, will 2026 be more peaceful? Ian Bremmer talks with CNN’s Clarissa Ward and Comfort Ero of the International Crisis Group on the GZERO World Podcast.
Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi isn’t necessarily known as the greatest friend of Muslim people, yet his own government is now seeking to build bridges with Afghanistan’s Islamist leaders, the Taliban.
The European Union just pulled off something that, a year ago, seemed politically impossible: it froze $247 billion in Russian central bank assets indefinitely, stripping the Kremlin of one of its most reliable pressure points.