Zurich vibrates to techno beat

Two of the estimated 800,000 revellers at this year's Zurich Street Parade, the same number as last year Keystone

The cobbled streets of Zurich once again turned into the largest dancefloor in Europe as 800,000 revellers took part in the 16th Zurich Street Parade on Saturday.

But organisers warned that without financial support, this parade could be the last one.

After German trance and techno legend Sven Väth kicked off proceedings at last year’s parade, which attracted 800,000 people, the honour of leading the 1pm “warm-up” – in dry but cool temperatures of 15 degrees – fell this year to Egyptian DJs Aly & Fila.

At 2.40pm the 23 creatively decorated – and “climate neutral” – Love Mobiles turned on their engines at Utoquai in the Seefeld quarter and headed off at 0.5km/h around the lakefront via Bellevue, Quaibrücke and Bürkliplatz, planning to arrive at Hafendamm Enge at around 10pm.

The 2.4km route was the same as previous years, although the number of Love Mobiles was reduced from 30 in order to increase the presence of those taking part, according to organisers.

Originally 25 Love Mobiles had registered but two floats – including the Buddha Mobile – had technical problems.

And if nine hours of pumping techno was not enough, the music continued at various events dotted around the lakeshore until midnight.

In addition to the Love Mobiles and their giant sound systems, this year’s Street Parade also included four stages with huge screens and a laser and light show. VJs mixed images of the 200 DJs – including German star Paul van Dyk – with shots of the parade and its underdressed participants.

Respect!

The parade’s motto this year was “Respect!”. According to organisers, this meant not only respect for the natural world and for other people but also respect for oneself, which they say is “the basis for satisfaction”.

They urged everyone to have “respect for your inner voice, your dreams and goals – and, most of all, respect for your health”.

They also proffered plenty of advice, from the common sense (limit alcohol intake, drink plenty of water and wear earplugs) to the less common (leave water pistols and whistles at home) in addition to Zurich-specific tips – “the overhead tram wires will be under high voltage throughout the parade, so under no circumstances touch the wires!”

The Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Drug and Alcohol Addiction once again set up a free hotline on the risks and effects of party drugs.

“Just mix music – don’t mix drugs,” said the institute’s information sheet.

Nevertheless, some 400 people needed medical aid and police arrested 26 people, 13 of whom on suspicion of dealing drugs.

In the evening one person died after being stabbed and there were also reports of a few scuffles.

Last parade?

But organisers also warned that this could be the last parade unless financial help is forthcoming.

As a result of difficulties in finding large sponsors, this year’s budget shrunk from SFr1.2 million ($1 million) to SFr1 million.

The organisers have had to tighten their belts after tobacco giant Philipp Morris pulled out because of what they claimed were too restrictive conditions, according to Martin Schorno, head of the parade’s marketing. “The kiosks that sell cigarettes are not allowed to be branded,” he explained.

Schorno said the budget could not go any lower “or else we’d have to cancel the parade. We’ve hit the financial pain barrier”.

He added that finding sponsors had become harder and would only get more so next year as Euro 08 would take up a large part of many companies’ advertising budgets.

The organisers have called on the city of Zurich to assume a percentage of the costs, arguing that the parade generates a considerable sum – estimated at SFr150 million by experts – for the local economy.

But Nat Bächtold, head of communication for the city authorities, said they needed to examine in detail the possibility of support “since they didn’t want to create a precedent”.

Almost a million people are hoping a solution will soon be found.

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

The Street Parade was founded in 1992 by student Marek Krynski, who was inspired by Berlin’s Love Parade.

The first event took place on Zurich’s ritzy Bahnhofstrasse and only attracted a few thousand people.

A year later, the parade route was changed and around 10,000 people attended.

In 2006, 800,000 people turned up despite steady rain and cooler temperatures.

Key facts

The Street Parade association has a budget of SFr1 million. In 2006 it was SFr1.2 million.
Three quarters of the costs are related to security, emergency services and cleaning.
In 2005, 42 tons of litter were collected.
Swiss Federal Railways have put on an extra 110 trains.
13 emergency posts and 3,000 volunteers will attend to the ravers’ wellbeing.
Drugs hotline: [phone]