Basel festival faces cancellation as suppliers await 95,000 francs

The traditional Klosterbergfest street festival in Basel faces an uncertain future after the association organising it accumulated debts of 95,000 Swiss francs, SRF reported. The event is scheduled to take place from August 28 to 30, but it is unclear whether it will go ahead.

The canton of Basel-Stadt continues to promote the festival online as a multicultural street event with food and drink stalls from around the world. However, several companies say they are waiting for payment from the organising association.

Drink supplier Rupp confirmed to SRF that it is owed a four-figure sum and did not work with the association this year. Airboxx GmbH, a company in the canton of Solothurn that rented tents and event equipment to the festival, is also waiting for payment.

Christian Imark, an SVP member of the Swiss National Council and managing director of Airboxx, said his company would not provide any more equipment until the invoices were paid and the situation became clear. A debt enforcement register extract seen by SRF confirms that numerous companies are waiting for money. Other suppliers also said they had lost confidence in the organisers.

The association’s president confirmed that invoices remain unpaid. He said the finances had been out of balance for some time and that he had only taken over the presidency in July. “I am sorry that companies are waiting for their money. The outstanding invoices will be paid later,” he said.

The president is also facing several debt certificates as a private individual, involving several hundred thousand francs.

The canton of Basel-Stadt had also previously been kept waiting for payment. This year, it therefore required advance payment for permits and usage fees, a spokesperson for the canton’s Department of Construction and Transport said. The payment was made, and the canton believes the festival can take place.

Whether the event will actually go ahead remains unclear. Suppliers told SRF they could not imagine who would provide the tents or drinks. The festival website still has no programme, even though the event is due to begin in two days.

Photographer Onorio Mansutti, who founded the Klosterbergfest in the late 1970s, said his foundation for children in Brazil withdrew from the event three years ago and has received no money from it since. He said the festival no longer reflected its original idea, which had focused on cultural exchange.