Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
I’ve got Eurovision fever. I sat in front of the TV for two evenings this week, fascinated by the spectacle of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel. The grand final takes place tomorrow.
But first, let’s take a trip through today’s headlines.
Enjoy the read!
Tomorrow is the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland. All the finalists have now been announced. Away from the stage, demonstrations and disruptive actions are also making headlines.
Since yesterday at 11.30pm, it has been clear who will be performing in tomorrow’s Eurovision Song Contest final. It was another great spectacle with confident presenters who mesmerised me once again with their wit and vocal performances.
In addition to the Big Five (Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK), artists from Norway, Luxembourg, Estonia, Israel, Lithuania, Ukraine, Austria, Iceland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Finland, Poland, Greece, Armenia, Malta, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, San Marino and Albania will be performing tomorrow. As the host country, Switzerland will also perform in the final. Zoë Më performs with “Voyage” as “starting number” 19.
Away from the stage, political demonstrations and disruptive actions also caused a stir. During rehearsals yesterday afternoon there was a disruptive action by activists. Six people carrying Palestinian flags and whistles were escorted out of the hall. In the evening, around 100 people demonstrated against anti-Semitism on Basel’s Münsterplatz and showed their solidarity with the Israeli participant.
Almost 800 farms disappear in Switzerland every year. In canton Vaud, for example, one farm closes its doors every week. Behind these figures lies the difficulty of passing on a farm.
In 2000, there were still around 70,000 farms in Switzerland. According to the Federal Statistical Office, this figure fell to 50,000 by 2019, with smaller farms tending to disappear and the remaining farms expanding. This explains why the utilised agricultural area remains at a relatively stable level. Dairy farmers have been hit particularly hard: their numbers have almost halved in 20 years.
It used to be quite normal for a farm to be passed down from generation to generation. But the tradition of the family farm being passed on to the children is becoming less and less valid. Swiss public television, RTS, spoke to farmers who are preparing for their retirement and whose sons were unable or unwilling to take on the inheritance for various reasons.
However, finding a buyer outside the family circle is a challenge. And it also appears that sales to third parties remain marginal, mainly due to the high costs for potential buyers. Faced with these challenges, some farmers are turning to innovations such as limited companies. This provides access for young farmers without assets.
The ageing of the baby boomer generation is presenting municipalities in Switzerland with growing financial challenges. Municipal finances are coming under pressure from rising care costs, particularly in urban centres such as the Basel region.
In Basel municipalities such as Muttenz and Reinach, rising expenditure on retirement and nursing homes and Spitex is leading to losses running into millions. The ageing of the baby boomer generation is playing a key role in this: many people who helped to shape the growth of municipalities as taxpayers in the 1960s and 1970s now need more support in old age. The cost trend is pushing the first municipalities to their financial limits.
Housing is another problem: not all older people can stay in their own four walls for as long as they would like, for example if there is no lift or there is a lack of barrier-free living space. Some municipalities are responding to this by investing in age-appropriate housing and prevention work. However, in many places there is a lack of financial resources. Often the only way out is to enter a home early – with the corresponding costs.
New financing models are therefore being discussed at cantonal level. In the Basel region, for example, people with assets are to contribute more to the costs of care homes in future. In the long term, there is also the question of more efficient structures, as the pressure on smaller municipalities is growing. In addition, old age experts believe that community mergers in some regions are virtually unavoidable.
The “Aareböötle” – floating down the River Aare through Bern in a dinghy – is more than just a leisure activity, it is part of Bern’s identity. On Sunday, the people of Bern will vote on a building loan for the Marzili open-air pool and a new harbour for rubber boats.
Approval is pretty much a certainty, because there is hardly anything that the people of Bern love as much as their Aare.
On hot days, hundreds if not thousands of people make a pilgrimage to the Aare in rubber boats. The most popular stretch is between Bern and Thun and is around 27 kilometres. The Marzilibad in the city centre is the most popular getting-out point. However, Bern’s traditional open-air pool is getting on and is now to be extensively renovated at a cost of CHF67 million ($80 million), including a specially planned “Aare harbour” to make it easier to pull the rubber out of the water safely.
The idea of a dinghy harbour is hardly controversial in city politics. Only the right-wing Swiss People’s Party opposes the project and speaks of an unnecessary luxury solution. It fears that the new harbour could attract additional crowds and overload the infrastructure. The city, on the other hand, points to the safety risk at the current exit point, where there are regular tailbacks and chaotic conditions.
The Aareböötle has long been a tourist highlight: travel blogs, international media and influencers praise the experience in the clean Aare. Construction of the harbour is scheduled to start in autumn, with the opening planned for winter 2028/29.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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