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CULTURE

10 unmissable events in Switzerland in June 2023

From the iconic Art Basel to street food festivals, and jazz music to carousels, here are all the events you shouldn’t miss this June in Switzerland.

Published: 26 May 2023 13:23 CEST
Updated: 2 June 2023 16:47 CEST
10 unmissable events in Switzerland in June 2023
Members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) community take part in the Zurich Pride on September 4, 2021. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Street Food Festival Locarno

Taste your way around the Street Food Festival Locarno from  Friday, June 2nd, until Sunday, June 4th. The festival will feature 50 food stalls offering freshly prepared delicacies from 30 countries, as well as a number of bars where you’ll be able to enjoy gin and beer tasting to your heart’s content. The best part? Sample portions will be available at every food stall.

Gustemm er Verzasca

While on the topic of food, Ticino will hold the next edition of Güstemm er Verzasca on Saturday, June 3rd, in Gerra Verzasca. The food and wine event, which is organised by the Gruppo Giovani Valle Verzasca and the Fondazione Verzasca, combines leisurely walks through the valley with locally produced foods and beverages.

An adult ticket will set you back 60 francs, while tickets for children aged 7 – 16 years cost 35 francs apiece. Children younger than 7 years of age can attend for free.

Luna Park Lausanne

Every year, Lausanne’s Bellerive area welcomes children and their parents for a few weeks of festival fun as it plays host to the travelling Luna Park, Switzerland’s largest amusement park. Before the park heads to Payerne, it delights visitors in Lausanne with a rollercoaster, various rides, carnival games and a number of food stands.

The event runs until June 11th 2023 and entry is free (rides excluded).

Wine Festival

Between June 2nd and 3rd, the Casa del Vino Weinfestival in Zurich invites wine connoisseurs and casual enthusiasts to taste a colourful bouquet of top wines while getting to know more about the winemakers behind the fancy beverage labels. While there, the pizzaiolo also recommends pairing a Ripasso from Veneto with a wood-fired pizza prepped with ‘tanto amore’.

The event is free and no prior booking is necessary. Buon appetite.

Niesen Stairway Run

This year, the Niesen Stairway Run is celebrating its 20th anniversary and while you can no longer register for the individual run, you can still partake in the relay race on June 9th. The run will see runners climb up 11,674 steps to the Red Bull X-Alps 2023 Turnpoint Niesen in the Bernese Oberland, also known as the Swiss Pyramide.

Note that though the run is a modest 3.4 kilometres long, you will be climbing an impressive 1,669 metres of altitude but fear not, the spectacular view is well worth the (arduous) journey.

Tour de Suisse

If you’re not looking to break a sweat yourself but are in the mood for a sporting event nonetheless, you can join other spectators at 14 host cities across Switzerland for this year’s Tour de Suisse, which takes place from June 11th to 20th. For the first time in the Tour de Suisse Women’s brief history, the race will be held at the highest level – UCI Women’s World Tour.

You can also follow the tour’s route online from the comfort of your sofa.

Art Basel

From June 15th -18th Basel’s leading art fair will be showcasing art of the 20th and 21st centuries across 200 selected galleries from around the globe. Prior to attending the event, which also exhibits in Miami Beach and Hong Kong, you will need to secure a ticket (from 35 francs).

If you’re not in the Basel area this June, you can also join the event online on the same dates.

Zurich Pride Festival

Zurich’s annual Pride Festival will be held once again in the city’s Kasernenareal and the Zeughaushof on June 16th and 17th. The festival sites can be reached from Zurich’s main station on foot in just under ten minutes and entry to the event is free – but there’s another perk.

Festivalgoers attending the event on the second day can use the Regenbogenhaus – packed with mirrors and changing rooms – from 12 pm to 2 pm as their very own styling room. The building will later transform into an oasis of calm between 2 pm and 5 pm for those in need of some downtime after a day’s celebration.

International Trucker & Country Festival

Between June 23rd and June 25h, the resort town of Interlaken is overrun by would-be cowboys and girls as it rings in its annual International Trucker & Country Festival chock-full of music and entertainment for the 28th time. Daily tickets can be purchased on the festival’s website for 35 francs, or if you’re not quite ready to get out of your cowboy boots, a 3-day festival pass will cost you 139 francs.

Montreux Jazz Festival

Switzerland’s iconic jazz festival returns to Montreux from June 30th through to July 15th with acts such as Seal, Sam Smith, and Juliette Armanet. The programme of the festival’s free stages, which will feature more than 400 concerts, DJ sets, and activities, will be revealed on June 1st.

During the festival, a box office, located at the entrance hall of the Music and Convention Center (2M2C), floor B4, will be open every day from 4 pm until the end of the concerts.

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CULTURE

Sting, Deep Purple return to Montreux Jazz Festival

Deep Purple, Sting and Lenny Kravitz will return for this year's Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, while Duran Duran will close the event with their debut appearance, organisers announced Thursday.

Published: 19 April 2024 12:02 CEST
Sting, Deep Purple return to Montreux Jazz Festival

“This 58th edition preserves the values that make the Montreux Jazz Festival unique,” said chief executive Mathieu Jaton.

“Our intimate stages, the constant pursuit of an optimal musical experience for both festival- goers and artists, and our musical DNA, blending heritage acts and new trends, remain at the very heart of our aims.”

Dionne Warwick, the Smashing Pumpkins, Massive Attack, Air, Kraftwerk, PJ Harvey, The National, Andre 3000, Paloma Faith and Loreen are among the other major acts appearing at the festival, which runs from July 5th to 20th

.For more than half a century, Montreux has been a magnet for big names in the music business, as well as for rising stars. It has retained its jazz label despite dramatically expanding its repertoire since the first edition in 1967.

Around 250,000 people are expected to visit the festival, which takes over much of the waterfront in the picturesque town on Lake Geneva in western Switzerland.

Veteran British heavy rockers Deep Purple will be appearing for the 10th time, extending their deep connections with the town: famously, their hit “Smoke on the Water” chronicles witnessing the 1971 fire that destroyed the Montreux Casino.

Sting’s eighth appearance will see him perform in a trio for the first time, with a guitarist and drummer joining the singer/bassist.

Acts paired 

Acts will be appearing on double bills. Alice Cooper is teamed with Deep Purple; Editors are paired with the Smashing Pumpkins; jazz singer-pianists Diana Krall and Jamie Cullum appear on the middle Saturday, while Soft Cell and Duran Duran will bring down the curtain on the festival.

French duo Air will be playing their debut album “Moon Safari” in full, paired with Massive Attack.

“The 2024 edition preserves the Montreux Jazz Festival’s values and distinctiveness in its programming choices, its intimate venues and the quality of the listening experience,” organisers said.

“Faithful to its musical DNA, the festival continues to explore the heritage and current status of American and British music, accounting for over 70 percent of the programme.”

In total there will be 64 shows in the two ticketed venues: the outdoor Lake Stage, with a capacity of 5,500, and the Casino Stage, which can hold 1,300 standing and seated concert- goers. There are 13 other free stages.

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