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Eurovision and bleak world situation are top themes at Basel carnival

ESC and gloomy world situation are top themes at the Basel carnival
Eurovision and bleak world situation are top themes at Basel carnival. Keystone-SDA

The Eurovision Song Contest and the gloomy global situation are among the main themes of Basel Fasnacht (carnival) this year.

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Carnival committee chairman Robi Schärz said on Friday that one of the great strengths of the Basel Fasnacht was that it also deals with sombre topics. Specifically, he mentioned US President Donald Trump and the warlike world situation.

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On the other hand, local themes are very popular, he said: first and foremost the Eurovision Song Contest, followed by the centenary of the birth of Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely.

The parade afternoons are attended by 442 units with almost 11,500 participants. The committee was happy that the number of young people involved was growing.

For tactical reasons, the police were not forthcoming about security precautions. However, police spokesman Stefan Schmitt said there was no particular danger at the moment.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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