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CULTURE

10 events in Switzerland you shouldn’t miss this January

From New Year’s celebrations to food markets and sporting competitions, here are the top events you shouldn’t miss out on this January in Switzerland.

Published: 27 December 2023 11:01 CET
10 events in Switzerland you shouldn't miss this January
Lucerne's firework show is a highlight every year. Photo by rovenimages.com from pexels.

New Year Fireworks

To mark the New Year, Lucerne will be illuminating the sky with a spectacular firework show – Neujahrszauber – from 8.15pm on January 1st 2024.

For the best view, head to the pier along the quay to view the display in all its glory.

Most towns and villages around Switzerland will have some sort of event – often with fireworks – on New Year’s Eve (although this year some local authorities have decided against them due to cost and environmental impact). Check your canton’s website for details of events near you. 

Touch The Mountains

If you like to ring in the new year with song and dance, we recommend swinging by the Touch The Mountains open-air festival held in Interlaken on January 1st 2024. The event will feature local talent, including popular singer and songwriter Bastian Baker, from 2pm.

Hurry and snag a (still available) ticket for 40 Swiss francs. Note that children aged 12 and under pay 30 francs, however, strollers are not allowed in the Golden Circle area.

New Year’s Eve Ceremony

Lugano’s New Year’s Eve festivities will begin with a procession, organised by the city’s authorities and associations, at 11am on January 1st. The procession will start from Piazza della Riforma in the direction of Piazza Manzoni and be followed by an address by the city’s mayor Michele Foletti and citizen Marco Solari at 11.30am and an aperitif at 12.30pm.

Harder-Potschete

Every year on January 2nd, Interlaken is haunted by the Hardermann – the Harder Kulm Mountain spirit – his wife (Wyb) and his many followers (Potschenen). If you’re brave enough to cross their path, head to Markplatz (starting point) to witness this decades-old procession, rich in culture and tradition, yourself.

PhotoSchweiz

Switzerland’s largest public photography event will take over Zurich’s exhibitions halls at Halle 550 in Zürich-Nord from January 6th to 10th. The event, which sees some 28,000 visitors each year, will include outstanding artwork from over 250 photographers and feature a market where photography companies can present their latest products.

Lilu Light Festival

Lucerne’s 5th Lulu Light Festival will once again light up the city with 20 creative light installations by a selection of global artists. The show will take place from January 11th to 21st in the Lucerne’s old town and around the city’s lake basin.

Old New Year’s Eve

Did you know that Switzerland’s Appenzellerland celebrates the turn of the year not once, but twice? The region commemorates the new year according to the Gregorian calendar on December 31st and again according to the Julian calendar on January 13th.

The tradition, which was first mentioned in 1663, includes three Silvesterchläuse (masked persons): the Schöne (pretty), Schö-Wüeschte (pretty-ugly) and Wüeschte (ugly). The trio set out in the early hours of the morning and go from home to home to wish every resident a happy new year.

If you happen to reside outside of Appenzell, you can still travel to the region to catch a glimpse of the trio making their rounds about town or head to a local pub to engage with them in person. For the latter, we recommend booking at a pub table early.

Paint in the Dark

Whether you fancy yourself a bit of an artist who’s up for a challenge or a newbie with a flair for art, Paint in the Dark guarantees fun for everyone. The pop-up event – where you will be painting, you guessed it, with luminescent pigments with the help of special lighting – will take place in Geneva on January 19th (6.50pm-8.50pm). The event is bilingual in English and French.

Cross de Lausanne

On January 27th, you get the chance to join Switzerland’s largest national cross-country event in Lausanne.

The sporting event will see some 800 runners – from top athletes to casual joggers – as well as several national teams run around a 1-kilometre circuit within the grounds of Bourget Park.

Olive Oil Special Market

If you’re on looking for something different to do come January, we have good news. On January 27th (10am-3pm), Basel’s Markthalle will host its Olivenöl-Spezialmarkt dedicated to one of the oldest foods in the world. There, you can chat with olive oil producers and find out what makes great oils while sampling top quality products.

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For members

WHAT CHANGES IN SWITZERLAND

Everything that changes in Switzerland in June 2024

From important referendums to train travel disruptions, these are the events and changes that are planned in Switzerland in June 2024.

Published: 22 May 2024 11:18 CEST
Everything that changes in Switzerland in June 2024

June 4th: Fighter jets on a motorway

The A1 motorway between Avenches and Payerne in canton Vaud will be closed to ‘regular’ traffic from June 4th to 6th.

That’s because F/A-18 fighter jets will be landing on, and taking off from, this section of the highway.

The reason is that the Swiss Air Force will be testing whether in case of emergencies its fighter aircraft can also be deployed from improvised locations, such as motorways.

June 9th: National referendums

The Swiss will vote on some hot-button issues in a second round of national referendums.

Two proposals aiming to curb the cost of the obligatory health insurance (KVG / LaMal) are on the ballot.

The first one calls for capping the insurance rates at 10 percent of income, with the excess be paid for by the federal and cantonal governments.

The second provides for a ‘brake’ on health costs, which should evolve according to the economy and wages.

READ ALSO: How Switzerland’s two crucial health insurance referendums could impact you 

Also on the ballot is a proposal titled “For the freedom of physical integrity,” launched by the STOP compulsory vaccination committee of a group called Swiss Freedom Movement.

The initiative demands “protection of the body” against interference by the state — anything from vaccinations and other medical procedures to actions involving physical contact that could impact a person’s physical and mental state.

READ ALSO: What’s at stake in Switzerland’s ‘physical integrity’ referendum on June 9th? 

The fourth issue is the electricity supply.

That’s because supplying Switzerland with sufficient energy has become a challenge due to International conflicts and the restructuring of the European power grid.

Therefore, a new law sets the ground for Switzerland to rapidly produce more electricity from renewable energy sources such as water, sun, wind, and biomass. 

June 9th: Geneva to weigh in on foreigners’ voting rights

Geneva residents will go to the polls to decide on an initiative launched by the trade unions and political left, calling for foreigners who have lived in the canton for at least eight years to be able to vote and stand as candidates for political offices at the cantonal level.

Foreign nationals can already vote in Geneva on municipal level, but supporters of the initiative argue that his ‘upgrade’ to the cantonal voting rights is important, because it would enable foreigners to have more political impact.

READ ALSO: Could Geneva be first Swiss canton to grant foreign residents more voting rights? 

June 9th: International train disruption

From this day and for at least three months, the train service between Italian cities of Domodossola and Milan will be interrupted due to railway works, also disrupting travel between western Switzerland and Italy.

To make it easier for people from Switzerland to reach Italy during the peak summer travel, Swiss national rail company SBB is considering setting up direct buses from Geneva and Lausanne to Milan via the Grand Saint-Bernard tunnel.

“We are planning around three buses in each direction every day,” the company said. 

June 14th: Feminist strike

As in years past, women in Switzerland will take to the streets to highlight the gender bias that is widespread in the country, especially regarding work, wages, and childcare conditions. 

This annual event began in 2017, with women in various countries, including Switzerland, rallying for equal pay, as well as other gender and trans-gender rights.

June 15th -16th: Switzerland to host high-level conference on peace in Ukraine

The summit, to be held at the Bürgenstock resort in the canton of Nidwalden, aims to establish a forum on ways to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine, in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.

While a number of countries have already accepted an invitation from the Swiss president Viola Armherd to attend the conference, Russia said it would not be there. 

June 20th: The first day of summer

Regardless of weather, June 20th marks the astronomical first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

It will last until the first day of fall, that is, September 22nd.

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