Lausanne is renewing its backing for the Béjart Ballet. The city has signed an agreement to extend support to the Béjart Foundation for five years. By boosting the city’s image and promoting tourism in the region, the ballet is perceived as an excellent ambassador for the city.
Lausanne is bidding to host the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games
Lausanne is bidding to host the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce its decision in July 2015 on whether the Games will take place in Lausanne or Brasov in Romania. The Youth Olympics are much like the Olympics but with one small exception, the Olympians are between 14 and 18 years old. The first Games were held in Singapore in 2010 followed by Innsbruck, for the first winter games.
“Hop Suisse! Hopp Schwiiz! Forza Svizzera!
Le News takes a shot at describing Switzerland’s chances in the World Cup.
Switzerland’s 2-1 win over Ecuador last Sunday is an encouraging start, so before discounting the country’s chances of going far in the World Cup, let’s take a look at some of its past and current performances.
Noting how well the Swiss are now playing, you wouldn’t believe that it was only two decades ago that the team came out of an extended dry spell. It had previously failed to qualify for any World Cups between 1966 and 1994. Switzerland is now number six in FIFA’s World Rankings – and a quiet favourite among other Europeans.
In the 18 international matches Switzerland has played over the past two years, it has only lost one. The Swiss have a team to be reckoned with and it is the top-seeded country in Group E, where it still has to play France and Honduras.
Switzerland’s chances rely heavily on star player Xherdan Shaqiri, who is of Kosovar descent. He is a talented winger who has done his share of club football with Bayern Munich, the current German Champions. Switzerland will also need a big lift from its captain, Gökhan Inler. Inler had a big part in Switzerland’s qualifying campaign, contributing two goals and two assists in the 10 games that he played. Josip Drmić will also prove vital; his goal scoring ability can make or break Switzerland’s chances. Drmić has been in scorching form as of late, scoring 17 goals in 33 games for Nuremberg.
Following Switzerland’s victory over Ecuador, the team has a good chance of getting out of the first group stage. If it finishes second, it will most likely come up against Argentina, a tough contender. It will then have a hard time going any further. In the unlikely event that it finishes first in its group (you never know) it will most likely face Bosnia, a team that it could feasibly beat.
Switzerland’s next game against France on 20 June at 21h00 is nevertheless likely to be a challenge that will demand full-on effort from the entire team. Hop Suisse!
Solar Impulse 2 test success
PAYERNE Bertrand Piccard’s and André Borschberg’s second solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse 2, successfully completed a two-hour maiden flight above La Broye on 2 June. This remarkable feat of engineering and ingenuity has captivated enthusiasts across the world — a suitable global acclaim considering the plane’s ability to reach far-off destinations without having to land. In fact, the one-man machine’s limit is human endurance. Its solar cells recharge batteries in daylight making uninterrupted flying possible, even at night when the aircraft’s energy source, the sun, is absent.
Photo: courtesy of Solar Impulse
The true feat of this demonstration couldn’t have happened without a build-quality that has used pioneering technologies to ensure optimum performances. Despite a wing-span superior to that of a Boeing 747-8, the aircraft weighs a meagre 2,300 kg. Its four engines are powered by 17,000 solar cells, which are built into the wing and provide the energy necessary for different flight stages. The aircraft’s ultimate challenge, an around the world trip, is programmed for 2015. Until then, ten or so more tests will be carried out.
Quick guide to Switzerland’s unique form of democracy
This video from Swissinfo.ch is an engaging beginners guide to how Switzerland’s unusual bottom-up democracy works.
Plans to toughen drink laws in Vaud
A damper on a night on the town
LAUSANNE Young people looking for a great nightlife are flocking in ever-greater numbers to Lausanne. Many come from Geneva where the bar scene is less lively and, above all, more expensive. Not everyone plans to get roaring drunk, but under peer pressure more are doing so. And they are getting younger, according to a new study commissioned by the canton of Vaud.
35 drunks a week are admitted on average into A & E at the CHUV in Lausanne
The NightLife Vaud study by the Morges-based Le Relais Foundation found that 91% of adults and young people surveyed reported drinking alcoholic beverages when going out at night. Nearly one-third admitted mixing alcoholic beverages with drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy. The authors of the report warned that this explosive mix often leads to problem behaviour, such as drunk driving, fights and unprotected sex. As attested by the CHUV and other clinics, many abusers wind up in hospital, often the result of alcohol-related injuries or severe intoxication.
The report recommends that existing laws verifying customer age are more stringently enforced. It also calls for greater cooperation, especially in club areas, between liquor vendors, bar owners, police and local help groups. It found that before 22h it was easier to engage with people and make them more aware of the risks and to focus on prevention. Meanwhile, Vaud is considering a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages after 20h by retail outlets and to stop the promotion of cut price drinks in bars. As an example of what they consider to be a success, cantonal officials cite similar measures in Geneva, which are credited with reducing the number of hospitalizations of young people drinking to excess. The youth wing of the Liberal Party of Vaud has collected more than 1,000 signatures against the ban.
Vevey pushes back on invasive parking
Vevey market is undoubtedly one of the most picturesque markets in the region. Popular with residents and tourists alike, it has for hundreds of years served as the fulcrum of trade in the Riviera. Centred in the Grand Place and spreading out through the adjacent side streets, stall-holders offer an abundance of local produce, crafts and the more mundane necessities of home life.
The market has shared the square with town centre parking facilities for decades. As pressure for more market stalls and parking spaces has grown, tension has developed between tradesmen, patrons and the municipality. This week, the municipality announced that in order to preserve the charm of the market, the safety of shoppers and to create a lake front position for the market, the parking will be moved to one side of the square away from the lakeside.
This much-needed improvement is being introduced in time for the regular Tuesday market on 6 May. Not that an excuse is ever needed to visit the market, however, stall-holders have invited visitors and shoppers to share “un verre d’amitié” on Saturday 10 May.
Lausanne celebrates its 140,000th inhabitant
On 24 April, Marc Vuilleumier, the director responsible for the integration and protection of the population presented a welcome gift to the 140,000th inhabitant of the commune to celebrate the city’s growth. Lausanne has seen a steady increase in its population from 124,800 in 2000. The rise is mainly due to the number of foreigners living in the city increasing by over 14,000 over the period.
Geneva: in the red but under control
The city has announced an annual deficit of CHF 35 million for 2013, although in a statement it said the deficit was due to an extraordinary payment of CHF 120 million made to the city’s new inter-communal pension fund to cover underpayment in previous years. Without this exceptional item, officials report that the city would not only have remained within budget but would have returned a surplus of CHF 84 million. In its announcement, the Department of Finance emphasised that the accounts clearly demonstrate that the City has control of spending and that its new accounting system is working effectively. The report also highlighted investment of some CHF 100 million in cultural projects such as a fine art storage facility, the efurbishment of the Alhambra theatre and concert hall, and preliminary work on large projects including the planned renovation of the Grand Théâtre and the Musée d’art et d’histoire.
French elections: Round one, right wing won
The results reflect frustration with the lack of effective reform.
GEX The first round of the French municipal elections confirmed the growing force of the right. With record breaking abstentions (38.7% failed to vote), towns such as Perpignan, Avignon, Forbach, Fréjus and Tarascon saw the Front National (FN) take the lead. More locally, the conservative parties (UMP, DVD and FN) have done well, especially in the Haute-Savoie. In Ain, though more disputed – especially Ferney and St Genis – Cessy’s right of centre candidate Christophe Bouvier won the first round outright with 100% of votes.
Popular discontent has been growing under Hollande’s lackluster leadership, but the results also reflect frustration with the main left and right-wing parties for failing to implement effective reform. This paints a different picture from the socialist utopia imagined by Hollande during his 2012 campaign: 46.5% of votes go to the right wing, 37.7% to the left, 4.6% to the extreme right and 0.6% to the extreme left. In Paris, a socialist haven, it was UMP candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet who surged ahead of socialist candidate Anne Hidalgo for the mayor’s office. While repercussions remain unclear, the vote underlines the need for urgent change in a country where entrepreneurial initiative is hampered by high taxes and lack of imaginative government support.
