Switzerland has started the new year!

Switzerland started the new year 2024 with the ringing of bells, sparkling wine and fireworks here and there. Thousands of spectators started the New Year in Zurich with a large fireworks display shortly after midnight.

About 10,000 rockets illuminated the lake basin for 15 minutes. They were fired from three boats on Lake Zurich.

The club “Silvesterzauber” expected about 150,000 spectators. The Zurich city police had already pointed out in advance that lighting private fireworks was strictly prohibited. The organizers and the police carried out checks.

Anyone caught in the middle of the crowd with rockets and fireworks risked a fine or, depending on the nature of the incident, a reprimand. The fireworks were also withdrawn.

For the ‘New Year’s Eve magic’, parts of the city center and the entire lake basin were closed to traffic. To ensure that spectators get home safely after the fireworks, the Zurich Transport Association operates a special timetable until 4 a.m.

There have been no fireworks in Bern since 2021. There, people flock to Münsterplatz at midnight to toast a Happy New Year in the open air. No official fireworks show was planned in Basel either. In Lucerne it would rise on New Year’s Eve.

There were also people who started the new year in a sporty way: for example at the Zurich New Year’s Marathon, where the starting signal was given on January 1 at midnight. (sda)