Topics of the Week 31

Switzerland celebrates its National Day in unusual silence this year. Due to extreme heat and drought, a strict ban on open fires and fireworks - including the sale of pyrotechnics - is in place across most regions. Yet this quiet holiday is accelerating a profound shift. While environmentalists and animal welfare advocates breathe a sigh of relief, local municipalities are searching for new ways to celebrate. At the same time, some cities are already ditching costly drone shows and light projections due to high expenses and waning novelty.

This scorching summer serves as a dry run for the country's political future, ahead of November's national vote on the federal fireworks initiative, which aims to permanently curb noisy pyrotechnics. Simultaneously, the ban is prompting a return to the core traditions of the August 1st holiday: "Buurezmorge" (traditional farm breakfasts) and classic political speeches take center stage, completely noise-free.

What began in 1946 as a bold post-war initiative on the lawns of the Grand Hotel has evolved over eight decades into one of the world's most influential showcases for independent auteur cinema. With the introduction of screenings on the iconic Piazza Grande in 1971, the festival struck its signature balance between intellectual discovery and an unparalleled open-air atmosphere.

For this year’s 79th edition, the spotlight falls on bold contemporary cinema addressing urgent socio-political conflicts. Audiences can look forward to the festival's signature, uncompromising mix of radical discoveries in competition and star-studded premieres beneath Ticino’s night sky.

We are reporting live from the Locarno Film Festival.

When temperatures climb above 25°C even in high alpine pastures, Swiss cows start to feel the heat: a high-yielding dairy cow requires up to 200 liters of water on scorching summer days. Through respiration and skin evaporation alone, an adult bovine loses well over 30 liters of fluid daily in hot weather. To quench this immense thirst, cows gulp water at speeds of up to 25 liters per minute at drinking troughs.

Across Switzerland’s roughly 6,600 alpine farming operations, this peak demand pushes water supplies to the limit: when hundreds of animals on an alpine pasture each drink 150 to 200 liters at the same time, local spring taps quickly run dry. On several communal pastures, this forces emergency water deliveries by tractor, tanker truck, or army helicopter.

Wrestling technique can be taught, but tradition and mindset must be passed down by example. For 14 years, the Königscamp in Wildhaus (SG) has set the gold standard for talent development in Swiss sport. When former Schwingerkönige (Swiss wrestling kings) like Nöldi Forrer and Matthias Sempach join top Swiss wrestlers like Christian Schuler and Remo Käser in the sawdust ring with young athletes, it’s about more than perfecting the Kurz or Übersprung throw: it’s about passing on core values like respect, sportsmanship, and staying grounded.

Gen Z’s fascination with Swiss wrestling remains as strong as ever. This is underscored by record demand in summer 2026: for the first time, the camp at the Berggasthaus Oberdorf (1,230 m above sea level) is running across two separate weeks (July 27-31 and August 3-7). A total of 160 young talents born between 2011 and 2016 are fine-tuning their skills in five-day blocks alongside their idols - a strong vote of confidence in the future of the nation's Swiss wrestling clubs.