A decade of major events

From the 2024 UCI Cycling and Para-Cycling Road World Championships to the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 and a host of winter sports world championships such as biathlon, ice hockey and the Alpine World Ski Championships, it is clear that Switzerland will be at the center of global sport in the coming decade. Moreover, with the Winter Olympics, hosting what is arguably the world's most prestigious sporting event remains under discussion. National Councillor Aline Trede, Ruth Wipfli Steinegger, from Swiss Olympic, Sandra Felix, from BASPO and Urs Lehmann, the President of Swiss-Ski, will discuss the strategies and new paths.

Classics and fresh ideas

Despite these major events, it must not be forgotten that day-to-day Swiss sport is constantly confronted with new challenges. Questions of financing, digitalization and sustainability are at the center of many discussions. Hidden champions such as trail running or the World Sport Climbing Championships are also given a big stage. Compared to its neighbors Germany and Austria, Switzerland continues to invest very generously in sports. Success stories such as the Tudor Pro Cycling Team, the support of Migros in women's swing sports or the innovations of FC St.Gallen clearly show this. Their best cases show how Swiss sport masters the most diverse challenges.

Meeting place for athletes and decision makers

For the 29th time, Lucerne will be the focal point for decision-makers from the fields of sports, sponsorship, tourism and media. At this year's industry summit, athletes such as downhill world champion Patrick Küng and Petra Klingler, the world champion in sports climbing, will meet representatives of renowned sponsors such as Coca-Cola, Continental Suisse, UBS, Helvetia, Carl F. Bucherer, Intersport Switzerland and many more. Experts and enthusiasts will come together to discuss, debate and ring in the golden decade of Swiss sport.

More info at: www.sportforumschweiz.ch

For the 25th anniversary of the KKL Luzern on September 16 and 17, 2023, the population was invited to experience something special together. The architectural masterpiece by Jean Nouvel was celebrated, which has established itself as an integral part of the city of Lucerne, the cultural scene and also the Lucerne:in.

A new format called 25-25-25 is now intended to open the concert hall stage to further artists and a new audience. They are to be specifically addressed in an annually changing project and welcomed with open arms. The format is a gift to the population and artists who want to perform in the Salle Blanche. For the 25th anniversary, the concert hall will be rented out for a symbolic 25 francs and the whole thing will take place for the first time in 2025.

This gift was initiated by the KKL Family support association: In an annual competition, all cultural activities in Central Switzerland are given the opportunity to submit their special concept for a 25-25-25 event. A jury assembled by the KKL Family selects the winning project and provides know-how for the implementation of the event. The winning projects should pave the way for as many people as possible to come to the KKL Luzern. To this end, the selection process should take into account not only the quality of the cultural, non-commercial projects over the years, but also the diversity in different disciplines, social target groups and geographical regions.

In addition to themed tours, guests have the opportunity to explore the house independently on a newly designed audio tour. This will also continue after the anniversary.

As one of 30 restaurants, Restaurant Lucide under the management of Michèle Meier received its first Michelin star. Michèle Meier, head chef at Restaurant Lucide since April 2019, and her 16-strong team already received 16 GaultMillau points at the beginning of this year and were accepted into the association "Les Grandes Tables de Suisse".

With the receipt of the Michelin star, Michèle Meier, who already holds the title "Chef of the Year 2021" from GaultMillau Switzerland, continues her successful career in upscale gastronomy. "This is on the one hand a confirmation, on the other hand an incentive for me and the team to continue on our path," says Michèle Meier.

The study shows that the airflow in the concert hall largely meets expectations and that airborne contaminants are effectively dissipated in the audience area. The results also confirm that the risk of infection can be significantly minimized with consistent protective measures and that safe conditions can be created for visitors in the concert hall. These encouraging results, writes the KKL Luzern, would provide a very good scientific basis for the planned gradual opening steps over the next few months.

Together with its partners Lucerne Festival and Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the KKL Luzern had commissioned the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the Swiss Center for Occupational and Environmental Health SCOEH to investigate the risk of virus transmission in the concert hall from a ventilation perspective. The aim of the study was to provide a sound scientific basis for the discussion on the upcoming opening steps for the event industry. The concert hall of the KKL Luzern is equipped with a special ventilation system in which the supply air is fed in under the seats in the audience area. This is intended to remove the aerosols emitted by the visitors and other air pollutants more effectively than with pure mixed ventilation.

The measurements were carried out at the end of April in the presence of musicians* and audience (more than 80 people in total) under realistic conditions. The ventilation effectiveness was investigated on the one hand with trace gases and on the other hand with a test aerosol in different areas of the hall, taking into account the ventilation and the activity of the room users (emitter and exposed person). The aerosols used were similar in size to those released by people breathing and speaking.

The study shows that air pollution in the public area is removed much more effectively than with purely mixed ventilation. Together with the generous design of the ventilation system and the large room volume, this results in a risk of infection that can be classified as low for the most part if the protection concept is adhered to. Only wind players and singers pose a slightly increased risk for other musicians singing or playing wind instruments without masks and for the front row of the stalls. Simple protective masks with a retention efficiency of 25 percent were used as the basis for the study. With a certified mask (75 percent) or an FFP2 mask (95 percent), the residual risk can be significantly reduced.

The results of the study are shared with the authorities and interested groups in the sense of an exchange of experiences. They have been incorporated into the test concert with over 500 guests of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, which was successfully held on Thursday with the highest level of safety for guests and musicians*. The results would form an important basis for the staging of Lucerne Festival from August 10 to September 12, 2021, the further opening steps of the KKL Luzern as well as the season start of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra with its new chief conductor Michael Sanderling on October 20, 2021, the KKL writes in the statement.

For the staging of the Summer Festival, the Lucerne Festival has consciously decided to rely on a seating arrangement with safety distances in addition to the mask requirement, thus minimizing the risk of infection. The KKL Luzern uses the study as a basis to enable further facilitations for all concert organizers from July on, under constant compliance with the respective valid conditions, and to return step by step to normal operations.

The study also provides important information for the safe operation of large event venues in times of a pandemic, according to the KKL. The chosen measurement procedure can also be applied to other event venues in Switzerland with similar technical characteristics, so that they can be quickly and efficiently examined by experts.

This function had not been filled since the start of the pandemic. It is now becoming increasingly clear that business is recovering. This step is intended to further strengthen the Sales & Marketing and Events departments and prepare and support them for the restart. At the same time, the management team will be expanded to three people.

"We are delighted that Larissa Merkel-Tytus will complete our management team as a representative of a younger generation and that we can successfully shape the restart of our company together with her. As she already knows our customers and the ongoing projects very well, we can now comprehensively advance the upcoming digitalization push of KKL Luzern with her and her team," says Felix Howald, CEO of KKL Luzern Management AG.

Larissa Merkel is 32 years old and lives with her family in Kriens. After completing her Bachelor's degree in International Tourism Management at Bremen University of Applied Sciences and a year abroad in Spain, she immediately started her first position in Sales & Marketing in the international hotel industry. Before starting at the KKL Luzern, she worked at the Swissôtel Zurich for four years, where she was part of the group-wide Leadership Development Program to prepare her for higher management tasks.