Most of the participants, some 20,000 scouts aged between 12 and 17, arrived at the camp in the alpine Goms region in the western Swiss canton of Valais.
Around 5,000 younger scouts, aged between seven and 11, are expected to arrive on Sunday.
The federal transport system was beefed up to cope with the swell of scouts. Extra trains were laid on to increase capacity from the usual 260 people per hour to accommodate 1,200 passengers every 60 minutes.
Eighty special trains were laid on, as part of an additional 120 train and bus journeys to the normal schedule, to also transport some 1,500 bicycles and more than a thousand baggage items.
The Swiss defence ministry is contributing CHF7 million ($7.2 million), 20 tons of equipment, including tents, blankets and kitchen utensils for the participants to support the two-week event, which runs until August 6.
Groups from Britain, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, Finland, the United States, Belgium and Italy are also attending, according to the organisers.External link
The event, which is organised every 14 years, is the biggest of its kind in Switzerland. It was originally scheduled for 2021 but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Popular Stories
More
Workplace Switzerland
What lies ahead for Switzerland: an economic outlook for 2025
Have you heard something about Swiss diplomacy that you’d like us to fact check?
Not all information circulating about Switzerland’s foreign relations is accurate or well understood. Tell us what you'd like us to fact check or clarify.
Credit Suisse Nazi ties ‘ran deeper than thought’: media report
This content was published on
Credit Suisse is alleged to have withheld details of its historic links with World War II-era Nazi clients, says the Wall Street Journal.
Swiss man faces life imprisonment after Australia drugs arrest
This content was published on
Swiss man, 21, accused of attempting to smuggle 25 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of CHF4.5 million into Australia.
Swiss insurer Helvetia says 500 jobs affected by cost-cutting
This content was published on
Some 500 jobs, including 200 to 250 in Switzerland, are affected by the new operational efficiency measures recently announced by insurer Helvetia.
This content was published on
Significantly fewer new cars were sold in Switzerland in 2024 than the previous year as demand for electric cars and plug-in hybrids declined.
Three Swiss brands among world’s 100 most valuable firms
This content was published on
Three Swiss firms made it into the 2024 top 100 most valuable companies in the world, despite Roche, Nestlé and Novartis falling down the rankings.
This content was published on
They are among more than 25,000 children, guides and volunteers who have pitched their tents in the southeastern region of Lake Zurich where they will stay until the beginning of next month. The 22 Swiss abroad are living proof of the theme of the summer camp, Contura 08 – forging ties among different language groups.…
This content was published on
“Compared to other countries, we have very young scout leaders,” says Stan Frossard of the Swiss Scout and Guide Movement. “But it has always been that way – our goal is for young people to learn to be responsible for themselves and each other.” Today there are around 56,000 Swiss scouts, of whom 60 per…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.