Many Anglo expats, particularly Americans, may be dismayed to discover that Halloween is not among the many festivals widely celebrated in carnival-happy Switzerland. In fact, after a surge of popularity around 1999 and 2000, the holiday seems to be on the wane. “Today you notice it mostly in the shops, maybe a result of globalization,” […]
Montreux Art: Uncovering artistic talent
Montreux Art Gallery, now in its tenth year, is a contemporary art fair with a juried selection of more than 150 exhibitors. The fair takes place in the Montreux Convention Centre, situated in the heart of Montreux. “We chose the right place,” says Jean-François Gailloud, director of MAG. “The Centre des Congrès is a very […]
Half of Geneva’s flights private
In 2013, Geneva airport recorded some 50’000 landing and take-offs (about 140 per day). What is interesting though is according to Wijet, a private aviation company, nearly half of these were private flights. The same company has announced that it is now offering private flights from Geneva to 1’200 destinations in Europe and North Africa […]
Visages du Japon – Faces of Japan
Launching on Wednesday 8 October for two weeks, the Fenetre sur Cadre, a small venue at 10, Place du Marché in Carouge, will be exhibiting the work of three photographic artists, Nicolas Bouvier, Matthieu Zellweger and Sylvia Wyder. The artists have come together to each express through photographs, their own personal vision of Japan. Sylvia […]
Solving Switzerland’s bike theft problem
According to Le Matin Dimanche in 2013 over 40,000 bicycles were stolen in Switzerland of which fewer than 500 were recovered. The costs are enormous. Insurers pay out around CHF 60 million in claims a year, a cost that is ultimately borne by policy holders via premiums. In Geneva, Bern and Zurich, Le Matin Dimanche put GPS trackable chips […]
Netflix streaming service arrives in Switzerland
Netflix, a US provider of on-demand Internet streaming, this week launched a second wave of European expansion. The film and TV series streaming service is now available in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Netflix promised its shareholders growth and this latest development is central to its plans. Competition in some of these markets, however, is stiff. Germany has Prime Instant Video from […]
Nuit des Bains – big night for contemporary art in Geneva
This Thursday is one of the biggest nights for contemporary art in Geneva. Nuit des Bains happens three times per year, and this night signifies the start of the contemporary art season. With 16 art galleries and museums participating, Quartier des Bains is transformed into a giant street party offering one vernissage after another, and […]
Apple’s U2 iTunes stunt has polarised opinion
Le News went to Swiss iTunes and found U2’s new album “Songs of Innocence” there for free. Yes free! This is Apple’s latest marketing stunt. Millions of U2 fans were happy to find it. Macrumours.com reported that the album had been downloaded over 2 million times by users just three days after being made available. Many others however have […]
Apple takes aim at Swiss watch industry
Apple, the US-based technology company, has predictably tried and to a degree succeeded in getting a rise from the Swiss media by claiming that its latest device, a digital watch, will cause the demise of the Swiss watch industry. The campaign disingeniously ignores the truism that a wristwatch is worn for far more than just […]
FAR° Festival of the Living Arts
For nearly 30 years, the city of Nyon has been pleasantly disrupted by the far° Festival of the Living Arts (theatre, dance and performance) during most of the month of August. As the only such event in the region, the far° explores new territories for the performing arts with Swiss and international artists combining both […]
