Appenzell is ready for the Federal Anniversary Wrestling Festival
Published: Friday, Aug 30th 2024, 10:10
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A small village is ready for a big festival: The village of Appenzell is expecting up to 20,000 guests on September 7 and 8 for the 25th anniversary Swiss Wrestling Festival. Preparations have been underway for a long time. The first date in 2020 fell through due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In March 2017, when the contract to host the anniversary Swiss wrestling festival was awarded, Appenzell's competitors were Bern, Lucerne and Neuchâtel. All cities in which the competition would have been held in their respective football stadiums.
However, the delegates of the Swiss Wrestling Federation (ESV) opted for Appenzell in the fourth round of voting and thus for a village with around 6,000 inhabitants without the infrastructure required for such a major event.
It is a special wrestling festival that is now being held in the Innerrhoden capital. The jubilee wrestling festival usually only takes place every 25 years, in honor of the ESV, which was founded in 1895.
Shortly after the award, preparations began in Appenzell for the festival at the end of August 2020, but the festival had to be canceled at relatively short notice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The calendar of events then got in the way of the search for an alternative date: the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival (ESAF) in Pratteln was already scheduled for 2022. The Unspunnen Festival took place in 2023. That left 2024, because the next ESAF will take place in Glarus in 2025.
Grandstand with 18,000 seats
In recent months, a temporary wrestling arena has been set up on the site near the Bleiche, which is located just outside the village, with a grandstand that can accommodate 18,000 spectators. The organizers can count on the help of around 2000 volunteers to set up and run the event.
One of the many challenges is catering for the guests during the lunch break on Sunday. According to the organizers, up to 20,000 people will have to be fed in 75 minutes before the competition resumes at 1 pm.
But now everything should be ready for the two-day event. On Saturday, the parade will take place from Landsgemeindeplatz to the festival grounds. Later there will be an air show by the Swiss Air Force PC-7 team.
The highlight is the actual wrestling festival on Sunday with 120 wrestlers. One of the special features: For the anniversary festival, there is no gift table as usual. All participants receive a commemorative Appenzell belt as a standard prize. The wrestlers had to state their individual measurements in advance. Only the winner also receives a live prize, a bull called "Alpstein".
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