It was the first time that a Swiss cabinet member had attended the annual music festival in the centre of Zurich.
Arriving in Zurich by boat, the culture minister, who this year holds the rotating presidency, praised the organisers’ professionalism and the peaceful atmosphere at Switzerland’s biggest cultural event.
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At 2pm the first of the 30 Lovemobiles set off along with tens of thousands of participants on the two-kilometre route around Lake Zurich.
Berset said he was keen to get on one of the Lovemobiles to experience the party. “I like the music very much. I know electronic music – at least some of it,” he declared.
The culture minister met the event organisers in Zurich, including Joel Meier, president of the association Street Parade, and founder Marek Krynski. He was accompanied by Zurich’s mayor, Corine Mauch.
Around 1,000 people took part in the first edition of Street Parade in 1992 as an event promoting love, peace, freedom and tolerance. The Zurich government banned the Street Parade in 1994, unintentionally helping it to become even more successful. Today, it’s considered to be the biggest techno party worldwide.
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Since then it has survived an attempt to have it banned, bad weather, criticism over drugs – and the changing times. Up to 900,000 people are expected in the Limmat city for this year’s parade, which is taking place under the motto: “20 years Love, Freedom, Tolerance and Respect”. There will be 29 “love mobiles” as…
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