Close to a million attend Zurich’s biggest street party
The Local - [email protected]
Published: 14 Aug, 2017 CET.
Updated: Mon 14 Aug 2017 10:06 CET
Some 900,000 people attended this year’s Street Parade, the city’s biggest party and one of the world’s largest techno music events.
Held annually in the city since 1992, the Zurich Street Parade aims to promote peace, love, liberty and tolerance, embodied this year in the theme ‘Love never ends’.
Revellers gathered along the two-kilometre parade route by the river Limmat in the city centre to watch the 25 ‘lovemobiles’ pass by, pumping music and peopled with costumed dancers.
Eight permanent stages added to the atmosphere until the event officially closed around midnight, though after-parties continued into the night.
Anything goes at Zurich's Street Parade https://t.co/NeyJMRcyg9 pic.twitter.com/fWgkp8b4M1
— swissbusiness (@swissbusiness) August 13, 2017
Though the event was largely peaceful, skirmishes broke out later in the evening and the early hours of Sunday morning, police said.
Overall 130 people were arrested for various offences including drug use and trafficking, violence and threats against authorities, theft, sexual harassment and counterfeiting money.
Those arrested were aged between 15 and 49 and of 25 different nationalities.
Most of the offences were related to excessive alcohol consumption and/or drug use, police added.
Among those arrested were 35 drug traffickers. Police seized 570 ecstasy tablets, 110g of cannabis, 85g of cocaine and 10g of Mdma.
Two men were hospitalized after a fight on Bahnhofstrasse at around 9.15pm.
And a 24-year-old Swiss was badly injured in an incident at St Anna-Gasse just before 1am on Sunday morning.
The offenders are unknown, said police, who are seeking witnesses to the incident.
However overall the number of people treated by medical personnel during the festival was lower than last year – 526 this year compared with 690 in 2016.
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Held annually in the city since 1992, the Zurich Street Parade aims to promote peace, love, liberty and tolerance, embodied this year in the theme ‘Love never ends’.
Revellers gathered along the two-kilometre parade route by the river Limmat in the city centre to watch the 25 ‘lovemobiles’ pass by, pumping music and peopled with costumed dancers.
Eight permanent stages added to the atmosphere until the event officially closed around midnight, though after-parties continued into the night.
Anything goes at Zurich's Street Parade https://t.co/NeyJMRcyg9 pic.twitter.com/fWgkp8b4M1
— swissbusiness (@swissbusiness) August 13, 2017
Though the event was largely peaceful, skirmishes broke out later in the evening and the early hours of Sunday morning, police said.
Overall 130 people were arrested for various offences including drug use and trafficking, violence and threats against authorities, theft, sexual harassment and counterfeiting money.
Those arrested were aged between 15 and 49 and of 25 different nationalities.
Most of the offences were related to excessive alcohol consumption and/or drug use, police added.
Among those arrested were 35 drug traffickers. Police seized 570 ecstasy tablets, 110g of cannabis, 85g of cocaine and 10g of Mdma.
Two men were hospitalized after a fight on Bahnhofstrasse at around 9.15pm.
And a 24-year-old Swiss was badly injured in an incident at St Anna-Gasse just before 1am on Sunday morning.
The offenders are unknown, said police, who are seeking witnesses to the incident.
However overall the number of people treated by medical personnel during the festival was lower than last year – 526 this year compared with 690 in 2016.
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