This article seeks to address the question of how much transparency should be required in international arbitration proceedings. It first discusses the benefits and pitfalls of confidentiality and transparency. It then introduces a proposed framework of transparency levels to determine the appropriate level of confidentiality and transparency required in an arbitration. In answering the question posed, the author recommends (1) keeping the level of transparency low for ad hoc arbitrations, (2) adopting a harmonised approach to transparency and confidentiality for institutional proceedings and (3) adopting an extensive level of transparency for arbitrations involving public sector parties. This is an edited version of the winning entry in the Hong Kong/Global category of the 2022 HK45 Essay Competition.