Basel kicks off Fasnacht 2024 with the morning prank
Published: Monday, Feb 19th 2024, 07:10
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Basel Fasnacht 2024 kicked off with the Morgenstreich early on Monday morning. Tens of thousands stood in the darkened city center and watched the spectacle of carnival lanterns and drum and piccolo marches in light rain.
At four o'clock on the dot on Monday, the street lights were switched off in Basel's city center. The drum major's announcement "Morgestraich - forward, march!" was followed by countless drum and fife sounds, accompanied by lanterns.
The weather was mild with temperatures around eight degrees and dry at the start, but it rained lightly just 10 minutes after the start. The city center was full, so at times there was no getting through on Schneidergasse or Barfüsserplatz.
AI, Barbie and Credit Suisse
As tradition would have it, the morning prank begins with the march of the same name, and small head lanterns adorn the larvae of the many carnival revellers. For the first time, the large drawn or carried lanterns of the many cliques also make an appearance.
Many of them are dedicated to the topic of artificial intelligence (AI). Other lanterns focus on topics such as the death of cinemas and hotels in Basel, the Barbie movie, the end of Credit Suisse and climate change.
Motto: "Bird-free"
During the morning prank, only drummers, pipers and performers are dressed in "Charivari" costumes, i.e. with individual masks. In the afternoon, the cliques present their parade costumes and props in addition to the lantern. During the Cortège, the big parade, the Guggenmusik bands, float cliques and "Chaisen" (carriages) also join in.
The motto of the Basel Fasnacht 2024 is "bird-free", and the banner shows a bird playing the piccolo in a cage. The Fasnacht committee thus paid homage to the Basel zoo on its 150th anniversary.
©Keystone/SDA
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