Covid-19: Swiss increasingly wary about museums and shows

A performance of the opera "Sun and Sea", by Lithuanian artists Rugile Barzdziukaite, Vaiva Grainyte and Lina Lapelyte, at the "Zuercher Theater Spektakel" in Zurich, on August 13, 2020. Keystone / Ennio Leanza

Around one in three Swiss say they will not go to the cinema or a museum until the Covid-19 pandemic is completely over.

The population has become “more reticent” about attending cultural activities since June, a pollExternal link commissioned by the Federal Office of Culture found.

At the end of August 42% of the 1,000 people who took part in the survey said they would only start going to culture-related events or activities in 2021; in June this figure stood at 22%.

The percentage varies according to the activity: around 43% said they were not prepared to attend a concert or a show at a theatre, opera or circus. Meanwhile, 36% said they would not go to a museum or exhibition, and 64% said they would avoid festivals. 

Financial support

The cultural sector in Switzerland has struggled amid the pandemic. The government approved a financial package worth CHF280 million ($306 million) to help businesses and institutions cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Switzerland. Yet around 65% of those questioned in the new survey felt the cultural sector should receive extra financial support.

Meanwhile, the number of new positive cases continues to creep up, with an average case count of 65 per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks. The daily number of new infections across the country, based on a seven-day average, stands at 422. This represents a 14% rise on the previous week. Vaud, Zurich, Geneva, Fribourg, Bern and Aargau are the worst-affected cantons.