National exhibition Svizra27 hopes for national decision by 2026
Published: Thursday, Jan 18th 2024, 17:10
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Whether the next national exhibition can be held in Northwestern Switzerland depends on whether the federal government makes a decision by 2026. This is what the Svizra27 association writes in a first edition of the feasibility study published on Thursday. If there is no clarity by then, Svizra27 "will be unable to pursue the project further", as the study states.
Due to the current financial situation, the federal government does not intend to make a decision on any financial contribution until 2028 at the earliest. This would delay the project work by at least five years, according to the study. The association behind the project initiative is therefore hoping for a committee motion, which was adopted by the Council of States last year.
This demands that it should be clear by summer 2026 at the latest which of the project initiatives will be awarded the contract for the next national exhibition and that the federal government should present a financing plan by the end of 2026 in order to be able to hold such a major event from 2030. The National Council still has to decide on this this year.
Cost ceiling of 1 billion francs
According to the study, the total costs for the national exhibition amount to around CHF 1 billion. The association expects the federal government to contribute up to CHF 500 million.
Expenditure of CHF 400 million is expected for the infrastructure and CHF 180 million for operating costs. Income from ticket sales and from the private sector is estimated at CHF 200 million each. The five host cantons of Aargau, Solothurn, Jura, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft and the host municipalities are expected to contribute a total of CHF 50 million.
The popularity of the national exhibition in Northwestern Switzerland is high. This was the result of a survey commissioned by the association, according to the study. In a "normal case scenario", the authors of the study expect around 7.5 million visitors from Switzerland and neighboring countries over a period from May to October.
Nine locations in Northwestern Switzerland
Svizra27 is to take place at nine different locations - each close to the river. The concept envisages setting up so-called space-time capsules in Arlesheim, Laufen, Saint-Ursanne, Delsberg, Aarau, Baden, Olten and Grenchen. Derived from the main conceptual theme of "human-work cohesion", each location is dedicated to a future issue - for example, artificial intelligence. A "forum" is also to be set up on the port site or in the exhibition halls in Basel, bringing all the thematic threads together.
In addition to Svizra27, three other initiatives are currently known that would like to stage the next national exhibition, namely Muntagna, Nexpo and X27. The last national exhibition, Expo.02, took place in 2002 in the Three Lakes Region. It cost 1.6 billion Swiss francs and attracted around 4.2 million visitors.
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