Fêtes de Genève


The Fêtes de Genève is an annual summer event in Geneva, Switzerland. It includes a grand fireworks display.

History

The Fêtes de Genève started during the first half of the twentieth century. Having suffered financial losses in 2016 and 2017, the festival was abandoned as of 2018. However, the grand fireworks still takes place; it was held on 11 August in 2018 and on 10 August in 2019.

Grand firework display

Every year, on a Saturday evening of mid-August, the Geneva Festival presents a grand fireworks display over Lake Geneva. The event is free although it has a budget of 500,000 to 700,000 Swiss francs. The fireworks involves about forty firing stations on the lake and about 30,000 rockets; they are about one-hour long and are accompanied by music.
In 2013, according to the Radio télévision suisse, hundreds of thousands of people came to Geneva to see the grand fireworks display of the Fêtes de Genève. The Swiss Federal Railways organise special trains to bring the spectators home after the fireworks.