Switzerland Today

Greetings from Zurich!

People preparing for August 1 celebrations in Switzerland may have to keep their powder dry as fireworks are increasingly frowned upon.

But first, here’s the latest news of the day.

© Keystone / Valentin Flauraud

In the news: fawning drones, bankruptcies skyrocket and storm costs.

• The clean-up of La Chaux-de-Fonds is underway following a deadly storm and the bill could add up to CHF90 million.
• The rate of companies going bust increased by more than a fifth in the first six months of 2022 compared to last year.
• Drones saved the lives of 6,000 young deer by identifying them lying in the long grass before it is cut.

Keystone / Lukas Lehmann

Big noise about fireworks

Swiss National Day revelers up and down the country are hoping celebrations will go off with a big bang on August 1. But opposition to fireworks is gathering steam.

Fireworks will return to the celebrations in Basel on the river Rhine following a year without firecrackers and roman candles in 2022.

But the fireworks display will be on a less grandiose scale than in the past as the city wants to reduce the amount of particulate matter thrown into the air by 30%.

This will be mixed news to backers of a national initiative “For a Restriction on Fireworks” that calls for a ban on private pyrotechnic displays.

The initiative had gathered 90,000 signatures at the start of July – only 10,000 short of the required number to trigger a vote.

“Hardly a beautiful summer evening goes by without fireworks exploding. On the national holiday, thousands of Swiss people prefer to go abroad without fireworks or barricade themselves in cellars and stables with their animals instead of celebrating August 1 with their neighbors and family,” states the initiative preamble.

Switzerland gets through around 1,600 tons of fireworks each year, according to police figures. These throw out 300 tons of dust which equates to some 2% of all particulate matter emissions in the country.

To make matters worse, stray fireworks could end up starting fires during hot, dry conditions, which are becoming ever more prevalent.

Of course, some people will consider the anti-fireworks faction as little more than party poopers.

Well-known cryptocurrency figure, Nikolas Nikolajsen, created a stir by announcing “the largest fireworks display ever witnessed in the canton of Zug” on August 1 with 35 tons of fireworks he is donating to the city.

The founder of Bitcoin Suisse later took to social media to play down his earlier statements. The 35 tons only contains 1.3 tons of explosive material, he wrote, which represents the emissions of 10 large cars.