The Fête des Vignerons celebrates the viticulture traditions of the Lavaux and Chablais wine regions
Keystone
The latest Fête des Vignerons – a traditional winegrowers’ festival held roughly every 20 years in the Swiss lakeside town of Vevey – will probably make a loss. Organisers are reportedly set to record additional costs of around CHF16 million ($16.2 million).
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/ts
Русский
ru
Праздник швейцарских виноделов Fête des Vignerons прошел с убытком
“We actually lost an average of CHF1.6 million per performance,” François Margot, president of the winegrowers’ guild, told the 24 Heures newspaperExternal link on Saturday.
However, Margot refused to speak of a “deficit”. He said the final figures had not been calculated and not all invoices had been settled.
Nevertheless, costs are already 5-10% higher than originally planned. Organisers initially reckoned with a budget of about CHF100 million, with half going to the artistic performances and half to the operational side.
Margot does not want to allocate the additional costs to a specific part. Rather, he says, it was an accumulation of various factors that had led to additional costs.
In order to compensate for the additional costs, the winegrowers’ guild is now trying to increase income and reduce expenditure, for example through financial support from partners and patrons.
The Fête des VigneronsExternal link took place from July 18 to August 11 and attracted around 375,000 spectators. Tickets for a show in the 20,000-seat outdoor arena – featuring more than 7,000 local actors, singers and musicians – cost CHF79-359.
More
More
How Vevey organises its once-in-a-generation winegrowers’ festival
This content was published on
Throwing the Fête des Vignerons, a traditional winegrowers’ festival held roughly every 20 years in the lakeside town of Vevey, is no small endeavour.
Ski camps in Switzerland reached record level in 2024
This content was published on
Almost 130,000 children and young people in Switzerland took part in a winter sports camp in 2024 - the highest number in 20 years.
Cable car in canton Valais replaces bridge destroyed by storms
This content was published on
Starting Monday, a cable car will operate in Val de Bagnes in Canton Valais to replace a bridge that was washed away in storms last summer.
Swiss president: Vance speech a ‘plea for direct democracy’
This content was published on
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter has described US Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Security Conference in Munich as a “plea for direct democracy”.
Switzerland honours world’s first female professor
This content was published on
Swiss-Russian academic Anna Tumarkin was the world's first fully qualified female professor. She would have been 150 years old today.
Council of Europe warns against excluding Ukraine and Europe from peace talks
This content was published on
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, has warned against the exclusion of Ukraine and Europe from peace negotiations.
Switzerland records fewer illegal medicine imports
This content was published on
Last year, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security seized 15% fewer illegal imports of medicine than the previous year.
This content was published on
This edition of the UNESCO-listed, once-in a generation Fête des Vignerons is the best attended since it started in 1797, organisers say.
Expat Swiss celebrated at historic winegrower’s festival
This content was published on
The expatriate Swiss community has been attending the once-in-a-lifetime Fête des Vignerons, currently taking place on the shores of Lake Geneva.
Italian costumes for Swiss wine festival strike sour note
This content was published on
With 100 days to go before the huge Fête des Vignerons wine festival, news that the 6,000 costumes are being made in Italy has triggered criticism.
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.