Switzerland Today

Greetings from Bern,

Has Taylor Swift already made a stop in your area while on her mega Eras Tour? In Zurich, Swifties are bracing for their idol’s very first concert in Switzerland next week – a seismic event for local businesses as much as for ardent fans. We look ahead to the biggest concert of the summer, and more, in today’s Briefing.

Keystone

In the news: More heavy rainfall and evacuations in canton Valais, new measures to improve relations between Jewish tourists and Davos, apprentices are stressed out and exhausted, and a record number of abortions

• After a night of heavy rainfall, two hamlets and a campsite in canton Valais have been evacuated. A lot of mud and debris flowed onto the cantonal road.
• A specially convened task force in Davos has drawn up a catalogue of measures for improving relations with Jewish guests after a series of scandals rocked the Alpine tourism industry.
• Most young people in apprenticeships suffer from stress and exhaustion or excessive working hours. One in four drop out of their apprenticeship, says a survey by the trade union Unia.
• In 2023, 12,045 abortions were reported in Switzerland – a record, and up from 11,374 the previous year.

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Swifties get ready for Eras Tour in Zurich

American singer Taylor Swift is set to perform to a sold-out Letzigrund stadium in Zurich on July 9 and 10, and excitement is already building for the star’s only Swiss dates of her record-breaking Eras Tour.

Around 100,000 spectators are expected at the two concerts – and a significant number of them will be visitors from outside Switzerland, news agency Keystone-SDA reports. The shows are expected to be a boon for local businesses. Accommodation in the city is nearly fully booked, and Swifties – ardent Swift fans – are largely women over 30 with cash to spend.

And that’s just the concert-goers. Visitors who didn’t manage to get a ticket are also expected to flood the city, just to get close to the action – and their idol. But they may have a hard time getting anywhere near the stadium, as access to the area will be restricted, according toExternal link the Tages-Anzeiger. And camping around the stadium – a favourite activity of Swifties during the Tour – will be forbidden.

In anticipation of the demand, the Swiss Federal Railways will have special train services to get visitors to and from Zurich, while in the city itself, additional trams and buses will be running.

Swift herself will be touching down in Switzerland for the very first time. Freesheet 20Minuten is wonderingExternal link where she plans to sleep. Among the luxury options is the Mandarin Oriental, Zurich’s oldest grand hotel – the tabloid Blick has its money on it, since Swift has made a habit of staying at the Mandarin chain of hotels when travelling.

Or perhaps she’ll be getting her zzzz’s at the Dolder Grand Hotel, a favourite among visiting celebrities. Its presidential suite is already booked for next week, at CHF14,500 a night – pocket change for the world’s biggest pop star.

Keystone / Christian Beutler

Outgoing Swiss ambassador to the US speaks out amid political uncertainty

The Brits may be the ones going to the polls to elect a new government today, but thoughts on this Independence Day are inevitably turning to the US elections set for this November. Jacques Pitteloud, Switzerland’s ambassador in Washington, DC, calls the contest pitting the Democrat incumbent Joe Biden against the presumed Republican nominee Donald Trump “a fundamental moment”.

“Once again in its history, the United States is facing a crisis of polarisation,” Pitteloud, who’s leaving his post this summer, toldExternal link Swiss public television RTS. At the same time, he added, this tense moment needs to be seen in a historical context. Over the last 200 years the US has stared down multiple crises that stem from the country “constantly reinventing itself,” the diplomat pointed out.

Since Biden’s poor election debate performance last Thursday, the media in Switzerland have wondered how likely – or even feasible – it would be for the Democrats to find another viable candidate. What’s clear is that such a process would not be easy, even or guarantee success at the November polls, political analyst Sarah Wagner toldExternal link SRF.

Despite the uncertainty over the turn the country may take after November, Pitteloud struck a reassuring tone: American institutions are stronger than people might think, he said, and the economy “has taken off like a rocket.” Any talk of the decline of the US is therefore premature.