Football without a party. Hardly anyone in the cities is in a festive mood regarding the upcoming World Cup. Neither in Basel, Bern and Zurich, nor in St. Gallen is a large public viewing planned for the World Cup in Qatar. As a survey by Radio SRF shows, no major fan miles are planned in these German-speaking Swiss centers between November 20 and December 18.
This sporting event is much different. Starting with the unusual time of the year when the World Cup finals are played, via the host country, a desert country with a problematic human rights situation, to the external circumstances: the looming energy crisis, the corona numbers rising again and last but not least, the war in Ukraine the football festival.
No summer fairy tale
You should not hope for a summer fairy tale like that of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. At that time, several hundreds of thousands of fans in different cities peacefully watched the World Cup matches on the streets and squares on large screens. Since then, young and old alike have been crowding in front of the big screens in Germany to cheer for the teams with friends and complete strangers.
But not this time. With the exception of Winterthur ZH, there is hardly a larger fan festival in German-speaking Switzerland. In western Switzerland, Vevey VD – like so many French cities – even decided to boycott the World Cup. Large public viewings are prohibited there.
Restaurants can celebrate
Neither in Basel nor in Bern do the authorities expect investigations into major events. Also in Zurich, according to SRF, the city police are only handling four requests from private individuals for a smaller-scale festival. And in St. Gallen there are also only two requests for small events.
However, restaurants and bars are allowed to set up some screens of their own accord and invite people to a fun football festival. However, in Bern, according to the radio report, there are individual restaurants that are deliberately boycotting the World Cup in Qatar.
World Cup ruined
The World Cup is controversial because additional stadiums had to be pounded out of the desert sand, which happened under very controversial working conditions. Thousands of guest workers are said to have died on the construction sites of the World Cup. And it is actually much too hot in Qatar for the football matches, so the final round had to be postponed to November and December.
On Thursday, November 24 at 11 a.m., the Swiss national team kicks off the World Cup in Qatar with a game against Cameroon. (pt)
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
