Thun takes centre stage

The festival will take place in the picturesque village of Thun in the Bernese Oberland (picture:www.thuntourismus.ch) Keystone

More than 200 young performance artists from Switzerland and abroad will gather in the picturesque town of Thun this week to showcase their latest productions.

The 43rd Swiss Künstlerbörse is the biggest performing arts fair of its kind in Europe.

The festival, which runs from April 25 to 28, features open air theatre, song and dance, cabaret, jazz, pantomime, puppet theatre, and classical music.

Such is the wealth of material on show that even the president of the Swiss Artists’ Association, Peter Bissegger, who manages the event, admits that the festival can be rather exhausting.

“The event can be pretty tiring and this does not only apply to the artists, who perform day and night for 35 hours, but also to the organisers, journalists and visitors,” he said.

During the three-day event, visitors will have the opportunity to find out more about the Swiss and international theatre scene.

For the past 26 years, the festival has served as a stepping stone for many young artists, helping them to move on to major national or even international stages.

The festival will kick off with an awards ceremony, where the Italian actor, Ferruccio Cainera is due to receive the Swiss cabaret prize 2002.

swissinfo with agencies