Thousands of people welcomed in 2024 at street parties - and more traditional gatherings - across Switzerland, with huge celebrations especially in Zurich and Geneva.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Around 10,000 firework rockets fired from boats lit up the night skies above Lake Zurich for around fifteen minutes. An estimated 150,000 spectators watched the event.
Fireworks displays were also organised in smaller towns such as Lac Noir, canton Fribourg, and Brunnen, canton Schwyz. However, no major fireworks displays were organised in the German-speaking cities of Bern or Basel.
In canton Bern, dozens of people plunged into the icy waters of the Moossee lake (5-6° Celsius) for the traditional New Year’s Eve swim. This event has taken place every December 31 at midday since 1999.
It is believed that the end-of-year bath, a tradition practised in many countries, washes away sins and allows you to leap into the new year purified.
In canton Bern, the residents of Laupen celebrated the Achetringele custom for the hundredth time on New Year’s Eve. The tradition involves chasing away evil spirits with bells, juniper brooms, pig bladders and scary masks to welcome in the New Year.
Fans of running were also able to start the New Year in a sporty fashion with a marathon race in Zurich that began at midnight.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Living longer: What do you think about the longevity trend?
The longevity market is booming thanks in part to advances in the science of ageing. What do you think of the idea of significantly extending human lifespan?
Swiss president visits region affected by glacier collapse
This content was published on
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter spoke with communities affected by the Birch glacier collapse, which buried the village of Blatten.
This content was published on
On Saturday the Lake Geneva, Valais and Basel regions are expected to record the first tropical day of the year, with temperatures exceeding 30°C.
This content was published on
The Swiss economy saw the clouds that had gathered over its prospects lift somewhat in May. However, the KOF economic barometer is still below its long-term average.
Direct operations too dangerous in Swiss landslide valley
This content was published on
By Friday morning 365 people had been forced to leave their homes because of Wednesday's landslide in the Swiss village of Blatten.
Franco-Swiss raclette war set to be settled on Sunday
This content was published on
The battle for the world's largest raclette will be transformed on Sunday in Saint-Gingolph, canton Valais, into a raclette of friendship served at the border.
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.