By Sofia Paola Sarandrea, Year 12
As the summer holidays are approaching, many individuals are searching for fun and amusing things to do this summer. Here in Switzerland, there are a plethora of fun events and festivals to visit during the summer, one of which is the Montreux Jazz Festival. The Montreux Jazz Festival is a large music festival held in Switzerland along the Lake Geneva shoreline. It hosts a variety of artists from all across the world and usually occurs during the months of June and July. This year, the jazz festival will be hosted from July 4th to July 19th.
The Music festival means a lot to Switzerland, its rich history dates back to the year 1967, and was founded by Swiss musical artist Claude Nobs (1936-2013). The festival is the second largest Jazz festival in the world after the Canadian Montreal Jazz festival. Attracting roughly 250,000 attendees. The Montreux Jazz Festival is a staple in Swiss culture, located in the breathtaking area next to the Geneva lake and the Swiss alps. The setting is curated carefully to make the ambience fun and lively.
It is worth noting to know that UNESCO has recognized the jazz festival for its cultural significance to Switzerland. The Jazz festival has also partnered up with EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) to maintain a public record of every single performance preserved to be enjoyed by either the visitors to reminisce the performances or for the individuals who weren’t able to visit to enjoy in person.
The festival is regarded as prestigious and historic and has transformed from being a small festival to an international one welcoming a large number of international visitors (30-40%). The festival offers a mix of free and ticket bought shows with ranging artists of all music genres. This year, artists such as Diana Ross, RAYE, Benson Boone, Lionel Richie and many more will be performing this year.
The Montreux jazz festival does not only represent the pride and prestige of Swiss culture, it also unites communities, creates a free and fun environment and allows for all to share the beauty of music together.
If you are interested in visiting the Montreux jazz festival ( Given that Montreux is roughly 1 hour away from Geneva) all the available information is on the official Montreux jazz festival website www.montreuxjazzfestival.com.
