Switzerland, a rich country?

The Swiss government’s cultural project for Euro 08 has been abandoned – due to a lack of sponsors. The project, 1924 – We Will Recapture the Title, initially envisaged putting together an exhibition of souvenirs from the history of football. Why the strange title? Switzerland was in the final against Uruguay during the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924. Uruguay was given the official title of world champion and Switzerland was able to officially claim the title of European champion.

Needless to say, the sponsors didn’t rush forward. Even the “lighter” version of the project, an exhibition to be viewed on the internet, did not attract enough funding, according to the Federal Culture Office, which did not end up backing any cultural projects linked to Euro 08, leaving it instead to the host cities and the relevant cantons. The government should have taken marketing lessons from Uefa, European football’s governing body.

swissinfo