Zurich revives city festival along its rivers in 2029

Zurich will revive its Züri Fäscht city festival in 2029, but in a new format along the Limmat and Sihl rivers rather than at the lake, SRF reported.

The festival will stretch for 10 kilometres, from the city boundary in Leimbach to the city boundary in Höngg. The concept by Zurich agency Aroma aims to connect seven city districts and 15 neighbourhoods through a series of attractions instead of a single central festival zone.

“There will no longer be one concentrated core zone, but a long chain of highlights,” Aroma director Lukas Meier told reporters. The rivers are intended to serve as the festival’s connecting element.

The festival will again be organised by the Verein Zürcher Volksfeste, the association that previously ran the event. It is chaired by former FDP city councillor Albert Leiser, with Jeannette Herzog as managing director.

The association ended its cooperation with the city in 2023. Organisers cited the ban on air shows, criticism of the fireworks, increasingly strict waste and recycling rules, and declining political and public support for Switzerland’s largest popular festival.

The new riverside festival is also planned to take place every three years. Its name has not yet been decided, city president Raphael Golta of the Social Democratic Party said. He said the concept had convinced the city government because Zurich consisted not only of its centre and lakefront, but also of attractive places around its rivers.

The new event will not include fireworks. Air shows had already been dropped from the 2023 festival.

The Züri Fäscht was first held in 1951 and generally took place every three years. The festival attracted nearly two million visitors in 2007 and 2.5 million in 2023. The coronavirus pandemic extended the gap after the 2019 edition.