GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The tickets for Paleo Music Festival came and went in no time Wednesday, after sales opened, and by evening the six days of concerts were sold out.
The Nyon festival, one of Europe’s most popular summer outdoor festivals, will welcome 230,000 music fans from 17 to 22 July. The festival has 210 concerts and more than 200 stalls.
Paleo reserves 1,500 tickets a day that it sells the day of the concerts, starting at 009:00 daily during the festival, online and at Ticketcorner outlets.
It also organizes an online ticket market where people can buy and sell tickets “at a fair price”, to fight black market sales.
Tickets are not sold at the Festival ticket offices.
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – The Prix de Lausanne dance competition is now underway, and as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations it is turning firmly to the future with new multimedia coverage and opening its doors more widely to the public to show that it has come of age.
The basics for 2012: 79 candidates, 19 different nationalities, selected from 226 applicants on the basis of the videos they submitted. They compete in Lausanne for a week for 20 places in the finals Saturday 4 February. Of this group, eight will be selected for year-long scholarships to one of the 65 Prix de Lausanne partner schools and dance companies, among them some of the top names in the world.
The competition was created in 1972 by Philippe and Elvire Braunschweig and it has developed, particularly in the past five years, into a major international competition in the dance world.
Japanese students are the largest group, with 15 dancers this year, followed by 6 each from South Korea and the US, and 3 from China. Their work sessions are followed closely by the Prix de Lausanne’s videoblog, available on YouTube.
Two young but internationally renowned choreographers who are known to Swiss audiences have prepared works for the competition: Cathy Marsten of Bern Ballet and Didy Veldman, who is working with Geneva’s Grand Theatre.
This year, for the first time, the finals will be commented live on the web in four languages by four prize winners, a lucky move for ballet lovers because seats for the finals have been sold out.
Events open to the public
Lecture demonstration: Tuesday 31 January 17:00-18:15, free of charge.
Selections: Tuesday 31 January, from 09:15 to 13:00 and 14.15 to 16.00, contemporary classes
Selections: Wednesday, 1 February, from 0 08:15 to 09:30, 11:30 to 12:45 and 13:45 to 15:00,
classical classes
Selections: Thursday, 2 February from 08:45 to 20.00, coaching of classical variations
Selections: Friday, 2 February, classical and contemporary variations in front of jury (15-16-year-olds,
09.45 to 12.00, 17-18-year-olds, 13:15 to 16.30)
Finals: Saturday, 4 February, 15:00 to 18:30 (20 finalists: classical and contemporary variations in front of jury), “Interlude Performances” by the London Royal Ballet School and the Danish Royal Ballet School. sold out
Gala: Sunday, 5 February, at 17:00 pm
SION, SWITZERLAND – Police in canton Valais caught two drivers going ovre 180kph on the same stretch of road, heading from Sion to Sierre, one Friday and one Monday. Both drivers had their licenses confiscated and they face steep fines.
Friday 12 August at 21:25 a 27-year-old Swiss man was clocked at 189kph near Granges, on the A9 autoroute. Monday at 17:00 a 21-year-old Serb man was clocked driving 182kph in the same place on the A9, also heading for Sierre. The two live in the area.
The speed limit is 120kph in the area, shortly before the entrance to Sierre, where the limit drops to 100kph. A man was filmed driving 224kph on the same bit of road 9 June; police were able to identify him a few days later.
Source: Paleo, ©2011 Paleo / Kiyoungmi Kim
NYON, SWITZERLAND – The Paleo Festival in Nyon is taking Amy Winehouse’s cancellation in stride as it looks for a last-minute star fill-in to replace the singer who signed on, to much fanfare, 11 April. Winehouse’s comeback European tour, after a long fight with drugs and alcohol, was off to a painful start this week in Belgrade, Serbia, and within a day the entire tour had been cancelled.
Winehouse was booed and jeered at the Belgrade concert where, according to a number of media reports backed up by film footage, she appeared to be too drunk to perform, despite strict post-rehab instructions not to touch alcohol. Her staff reportedly has instructions to get rid of any alcohol it finds.
The BBC reports that “many had paid up to €45 (£40) to see her in a country in which wages are some of the lowest in Europe, and their anger was clear.” The Daily Mail reported 21 June that her management says the singer will not ask to be paid for the Belgrade show.
The announcement that the tour was cancelled was gentler, and Paleo as well as some of her other concert venues has picked up the tone, noting that “Amy Winehouse is withdrawing from all scheduled performances. Everyone involved wishes to do everything they can to help her return to her best and she will be given as long as it takes for this to happen. Paléo addresses this talented artist their best wishes.”
The tickets for her Nyon gig will not be refunded, as per Paleo policy. The festival says it will announce her replacement as soon as one is found.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It will cost you only about CHF100 to go 300kph in China, on the Beijing-Shanghai route, but you won’t be behind the wheel, you’ll be in a passenger seat on the new high-speed train. The Chinese government 14 June unveiled the price schedule for the trains, which go into operation at the end of June, cutting travel time from the current high-speed train trip of 10 hours to under 5 hours.
China’s railway company will run 126 trains at 300kph every day and 54 trains at 250kph, as well as continuing to run 136 “normal” trains for the 1,318km journey. The fastest trains were originally scheduled to run at 350kph but the government decided to reduce the speed for cost and safety reasons.
Ticket prices in yuan will be RMB555 for second-class seats and RMB1,750 for first-class, for the 4-hour 48-minute journey. By comparison, a regular full-fare airplane ticket costs nearly RMB1,400 and the flight takes one hour, 40 minutes flying time.
Xinhua, the official news agency, issued a puzzling statement based on remarks by Vice Minister of Railways Hu Yadong at a press conference, that “Prices will float according to the market and for the good of passengers.”
China will continue to run 250kph trains, with tickets costing RMB410 to 650 for second and first class, respectively.
The new high-speed lines will also make it possible to “increase cargo transportation capacity by 140,000 tons per day and 50 million tons per year, according to Xinhua.
Zurich's Bahnhof "guardian angel", by Niki de Saint Phalle, might need to help pad travellers pocketbooks in 2012
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Hospital as well as some train fares in Switzerland are expected to rise significantly in 2012, based on preliminary remarks by a Swiss health organization and the CFF rail company Tuesday 3 May.
Santésuisse 3 May announced that it expects to see hospital costs rise by 1.6 percent overall in Switzerland, but with some significant differences around the country: Genevans can expect to pay 4.5 percent more and residents of canton Vaud 1.5 percent more, while Ticino is the rare canton that can expect to see hospitalization cost considerably less, down 7.6 percent.
Cantons will share costs
The change is due to an agreement just reached by the cantons and that goes into effect in January 2012. Hospitals have until now charged based on the cost of services delivered, but they will in future charge a fixed amount for a service, based on calculations of overall services provided throughout the country, with the cost shared and spread by the cantons. The new agreement will share hospitalization charges more equitably across the country.
Track 7, first class, year-round subscription and commune tickets to go up
Bob Dylan, Azkena Rock Festival 2010 (photo, Alberto Cabello/wikipedia)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Legendary American folk singer-songwriter Bob Dylan is coming to Switzerland for a one-day concert: the Summer Sound Sursee Festival in canton Lucerne.
Dylan, 69, will perform on 24 June in Switzerland as part of his worldwide tour.
Tickets are on sale now through Ticketcorner.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Musician Elton John won’t be appearing at the Arena in Geneva Thursday evening: the singer has the flu. The concert, where he was to appear with Ray Cooper, is postponed to 26 May, Opus One announced Thursday afternoon. An earlier concert, in December, was postponed until today due to sickness.
Tickets for December or 3 February are valid for May, says the organizer, but if ticket-holders are unable to attend they have until 3 March to be reimbursed.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The producer of performer Prince’s two cancelled concerts in Geneva earlier in 2010, Daniel Quarcoopome, has been arrested at a Geneva five-star hotel, city police have confirmed, following local media reports.
The ticket sales group Resaplus had pressed charges against him after the cancellations. An investigation into the affair will now try to determine if fraud is involved.
TSR reports that the ticket agency had advanced CHF700,000 to the producer to organize the concert and part of the rationale behind the court case is to get the money back in order to reimburse ticket-holders.
International sports, tennis
Roger Federer in Ethiopia, 2010 (photo, ©2010 Roger Federer Foundation)
Update 17:25 Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal will play each other in a charity match 21 December at the Hallenstadion in Zurich. Proceeds from “The Match for Africa” will go to the Roger Federer Foundation. Tickets go on sale 1 September.
The RFF supports education, sports and leisure activities in places with little or no funding at all. It has as its slogan the words of 15-year-old Nolonwabo Batini from Port Elizabeth, South Africa: “I am tomorrow’s future.” The foundation works “to permit a maximum of children to make the slogan become reality in their lives and help them actively shape their future.
Click on image to view larger
The Miles Davis Hall programme now complete for MJF
Montreux, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Alternative rock, dark melodies and hard riffs are on the agenda for 3 July 2010 when The Dead Weather play at the Miles Davis Hall, completing its programme as part of the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs) and Alison Mosshart (The Kills) are joined by bassist Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs) and guitarist Dean Fertita (Queens Of The Stone Age). The four will release an album in May.
Tickets for the concert go on sale Thursday 6 May at the FNAC, Ticket Counter and online at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Ticket information update:
Paleo will feature Southern African artists in 2010, a nod to football’s World Cup, inlcuding Ubuhle Be Afrika.
Paleo Festival in June in Nyon, 20-25 July
Tickets were promptly sold out Wednesday noon 21 April, the first sales day, for everything but Tuesday night! Tickets for Sunday, the hottest night, went in 15 minutes and for the other nights within two hours. Paleo’s sale pitch for the remaining night: “The Tuesday night will swing between hip-hop and rock with, on one hand, the mythical French NTM and the inventive N*E*R*D and, on the other, the bruising rock of rock’n'roll legends Iggy and the Stooges and the Frenchman Saez, incisive and engaged.”
Paleo does a great job of fighting the ticket scalping problem with the Paleo bourse, starting 5 May, where you can buy or sell tickets at a fair price. This is also where you can get tickets for the Tuesday shows. And 1,500 tickets go on sale every morning at Paleo for shows that night, so there is always a last-minute chance to get tickets.
Geneva Servette Hockey Club versus SE Bern in the finals
Thursday 22 April in Geneva
Tickets sold out within two hours Wednesday morning to Thursday’s (22 April) sixth game in the best-of-seven series, so the ticket windows won’t be open at the Vernets ice rink.
Lake Geneva boats connect France with Vaud and Geneva in Switzerland
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Boat trips on Lake Geneva will go up by 5.5 percent in 2011, the CGN (Compagnie Générale de la Navigation) has announced, with smaller price increases on the Lausanne-Thonon line starting 1 June 2010. The 2011 ticket prices go into effect 12 December 2010, when Swiss public transport companies put new rates into effect. The Swiss federal government ordered public transport companies to delay price hikes in 2009, with the result that in 2010-11 they will be steeper than usual. The CGN says its increase is slightly under the average for Swiss public transport companies.
The CGN distinguishes between its tourist boats and public transport, with plans to develop more public transport in the next few years. The company’s traffic on the lake has grown steadily since 2002: from 1.37 to 1.85 million in 2009.
SCNF has special site, phone line for French trains affected
Bern, Switzerland and Paris, France (GenevaLunch) - Rail traffic between France and Belgium has stopped and rail authorities say the interruption could last all day Monday 15 February, following a violent head-on collision of two trains south of Brussels. The Eurostar and Thalys are particularly affected.
The accident killed more than 20 people and there appear to be many serious injuries, but authorities have not yet provided official figures. The crash occurred around 08:30 Monday morning during rush hour, with the two trains were filled with commuters.
Title: Cirque du Soleil, “Saltimbanco”
Location: Geneva, arena
Link out: Click here
Description: Several performances by the famed Canadian circus, with tickets available at FNAC and Ticket Corner
Start Date: 2009-12-18
End Date: 2009-12-27
No place to run if you don't pay your ticket
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Transports Publics Genevois (TPG) say that it is getting serious about people who don’t pay for public transportation. The company has added eight new inspectors to the 54 it already has, is increasing the frequency of its ticket controls on board Geneva’s buses and trams, and the fines are going up.
Paleo crowd, 2009
What it is: The largest outdoor music festival in Switzerland, started in 1976, with over 4.3 million concert-goers since then. In 2008, the audience was 227,000 strong, and there were 146 performances on six stages.
Volunteers, all 4,062 of them, helped to make the experience a great one for all. According to a survey in 2008, 59 percent of concert-goers came from the Lake Geneva region.
Paleo Music Festival, near Nyon, Switzerland, a sea of music-lovers
Montreux, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Lake Geneva region’s musical summer is well underway, good for music-lovers, a bit less so for drivers. If you’re on the road between Geneva and Lausanne in the coming week, check the news for traffic jams around Nyon. Festival-goers are urged to use public transport, made easy for them: the CFF rail company is putting on extra trains and reducing ticket prices. The last train for Geneva leaves at 03:00 and for Lausanne-Montreux at 03:30. Shuttles and extra trains between the Nyon train station and the festival operate at 10-minute intervals.
The festival sold out, all 200,000 tickets, in two hours when sales opened in April. An additional 1,000 tickets a day go on sale online at the festival site, to discourage black market ticket sales.
GenevaLunch will be covering the festival daily, bringing you news and reviews.
Montreux closes on a happy note, offers listeners online treats
Read more…
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The CHF5 you now pay if you’ve rushed onto a Swiss train without buying your ticket in advance will go up to CHF10 on Switzerland’s national day, 1 August. The CFF rail company and public transport authorities have agreed to the increase in order to discourage the growing number of people who get on trains without a ticket, slowing down ticket-checkers and making it difficult for them to complete their tour of the train.
Zurich, Switzerland (20 Minutes/ats , Fre) – A passenger fined CHF80 for sitting in a first-class car with only a second-class ticket complained to the Swiss federal transport ministry that the fine was too high.
Update 20 March 07:30 Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A technical error in a fixed radar in Lausanne caused nearly 3,000 innocent motorists to be fined for speeding over a period of three months, say city police.
Geneva, Switzerland (20min, Fre) – The police in the city of Geneva is preparing a welcome-back-to-school operative to remind drivers of the basics rule of the road, especially near schools. As of Monday 27 October, police promises warnings, not tickets, in part due to their “slowdown“. However, beware you still could receive a fine if the offense jeopardizes your safety or the safety of others.
