The Sackler family owns the Purdue pharmaceutical group, which has become emblematic of the opioid crisis in the United States.
As festival president Aldo Kropf told Swiss newspaper NZZ am SonntagExternal link, each year the Sackler family donates about CHF25,000 ($25,776) to the classical music event. The total festival budget is around CHF7.5 million, four million of which comes from sponsorship.
Theresa Sackler lives in the Bernese Oberland resort town for part of the year. She is the widow of Mortimer Sackler, who founded the Purdue laboratory with his brother Raymond. Mortimer Sackler died in Gstaad in 2010.
According to the American authorities, the opioid crisis has caused almost 400,000 deaths in the United States over the last 20 years. The manufacturer of one of the main opioid pain relief drugs, OxyContin by Purdue Pharma, was the subject of more than 2,000 complaints before announcing its bankruptcy in September.
More
More
Should Swiss museums and festivals accept tobacco industry money?
This content was published on
Swiss cultural events and institutions face an ethical dilemma when accepting sponsorship deals from the likes of cigarette giant Philip Morris.
First large-scale alpine solar plant approved in Switzerland
This content was published on
The approval was met with satisfaction by the project's organisers, but it also brings with it a certain amount of pressure.
Medieval squirrels may have ‘helped spread leprosy’
This content was published on
An examination of squirrel remains in the United Kingdom has opened up interesting questions and possibilities in terms of the history of the disease.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
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.
Read more
More
Gaps found in opioid prescription oversight in Switzerland
This content was published on
In the wake of the opioid crisis in the US, some medical professionals in Switzerland are warning about over-prescription of oxycodone drugs.
Opioid painkiller prescriptions surge in Switzerland
This content was published on
Prescription for powerful opioid medication have increased twenty-fold in the last thirty years, a recent study has found.
This content was published on
The Kunstmuseum Bern has sold a painting by Édouard Manet from its controversial Gurlitt collection to Tokyo for $4 million.
This content was published on
Menuhin was also a conductor, teacher, impresario and supporter of human rights. American-born, he had a Swiss passport, linked to his family’s 40-year residency in Gstaad, in the Bernese Oberland. Menuhin died in 1999, aged 82. “He was a kind of pioneer in every sense and far ahead of our times,” Christoph Müller, the festival’External…
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.