Swiss National Costume Festival attracted 100,000 visitors

Swiss President Viola Amherd (centre) at the Swiss National Costume Festival. Keystone / Ennio Leanza

Swiss President Viola Amherd was a guest at the Swiss National Costume Festival in Zurich, which attracted around 100,000 festival-goers over the last three days.

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Wearing a pink trouser suit, instead of a traditional Swiss costume, Amherd joked about the appearance of former president Alain Berset at Zurich’s Street Parade last summer. “He put a feather boa around his neck and was therefore appropriately dressed,” she said.

+ National costumes show off Swiss diversity

However, the effort involved in the traditional costume festival is significantly greater. “That’s why I admire your costumes all the more,” said Amherd to the traditional costume clubs and traditional groups on Bürkliplatz. “This weekend, traditional costume life shines.”

The festival attracted 10,000 visitors. Keystone / Ennio Leanza

The costumes from all regions are a celebration of diversity. “In a time when polarisation and settling scores are happening everywhere, it is all the more important to put something like this together.”

Zurich Mayor Corine Mauch used the three-day event to wear her great-great-great-grandmother’s traditional Bernese costume. She hasn’t worn the heirloom for a long time, and last did so at her graduation ceremony at the Federal Institute of Technology ETHZ.

“It’s quite possible that I didn’t do everything correctly,” she said, preemptively apologising to the people in the traditional costumes – knowing that they would be watching very closely that weekend.

Costume science

Traditional costumes are a science in themselves. Every clasp and every piece of jewelry has to be in the right place, the shoes are always black and the apron is of course perfectly ironed.

Guests at the official ceremony on Sunday included government representatives from 16 cantons and numerous members of parliament. The highlight on Sunday was the colorful parade of traditional groups through the city centre. “For once, a street parade without booming bass,” said Mauch.

Around 100,000 festival-goers attended the three-day festival in Zurich. The event was “happy and peaceful” throughout, said Max Binder, OC President and former Zurich parliamentarian. There were no incidents. The police officers mainly posed for selfies with the people in traditional costumes.

After 1939 and 1974, the city of Zurich hosted the traditional costume festival for the third time, which takes place every 12 years.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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