Hand in hand through the Bernese event summer

In 2023, Bern's summer coloured the federal city. With BernPride, which was also the final bouquet of the EuroGames, the 1 August celebrations and the IFSC Climbing & Paraclimbing World Championships, three major events came together on Bundesplatz at the end of July. Instead of organising the events independently of each other, the organisers joined forces and offered a joint stage for diversity, inclusion and local networking.

The unique series of events kicked off on Wednesday 26 July 2023 at Bundesplatz with the opening ceremony of the largest queer sporting event - the EuroGames. Over the following four days, competitions in sports such as hockey, mini golf and timed hiking were held at various sports facilities in the Wankdorf and Weissenstein neighbourhoods, celebrating diversity. Interested parties were also able to take part in activities such as "Yoga", "Raclette City Nightwalk" and "Photo Rally". In the EuroGames Village on the cathedral platform, a festival with a wide range of catering provided entertainment and well-being for athletes and visitors. The EuroGames were created because many athletes are still prevented from taking part in sports due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. The multi-sport event culminated on Saturday 29 July 2023 in BernPride - a demonstration parade that led participants from the Wankdorf stadium via Aargauerstalden through Gerechtigkeitsgasse back to Bundesplatz, where the end of the EuroGames was also celebrated with the Pride Festival. With Nemo, Msoke, Naomi Lareine and drag queen Paprika, real stars from the LGBTIQIA+ community performed at the popular meeting point in front of the Bundeshaus.

But things didn't stay quiet in Bern until the start of the World Climbing Championships on 1 August. The idéeBERN association extended this year's 1 August celebrations to two days and played out on the Bundesplatz from 31 July to 1 August 2023 with a programme for young and old and a diverse range of food and drink from local producers. Under the motto "Bern celebrates itself" - after all, Bern has been the federal city for 175 years this year - the Bundesgasse became a culinary alley, the Bundeshaus opened its doors to the public on 1 August, free city tours were offered by Bern Welcome and 10 concerts and DJ sets took place on the Bundesplatz on both days. The traditional lantern parade in cooperation with Procap, the member organisation of and for people with disabilities in Switzerland, built a symbolic bridge to the World Climbing Championships. The children picked up the athletes of the Sport Climbing World Championships on the way and accompanied them to the Bundesplatz. The official opening ceremony of the IFSC Climbing & Paraclimbing World Championships began at the end of the lantern procession. "One and the same stage was used for BernPride, the 1 August celebrations and the opening ceremony of the World Climbing Championships," says Benjamin Sterchi, Managing Director of idéeBERN. "The same applied to the catering, toilet facilities and other infrastructure. We succeeded in harmonising the individual requirements and planning them together. By utilising synergies, we were able to organise events more sustainably." Marc Heeb, Head of the Police Inspectorate of the City of Bern, believes that this collaboration also had considerable benefits for the city. "Fewer logistics journeys were necessary, which also reduced noise emissions. This helped to minimise conflicts of use." Bern Welcome was involved in the bidding processes for the EuroGames and the IFSC Climbing & Paraclimbing World Championships and provided support with tourism services. CEO Manuela Angst was looking forward to the festival in the federal city: "It was wonderful for us to see such success stories emerge from networking work."

While EuroGames and BernPride were characterised by diversity, para-climbing was also given a stage at the Sport Climbing World Championships: "Para-sport still receives too little attention today," says Amruta Wyssmann, para-athlete in the Swiss Climbing Team. The 31-year-old from Zollikofer was the first female athlete in the current 16-strong national para-climbing team, making her a pioneer of the Swiss para-climbing scene. "Being able to take part in the world championships in my home country was something really big for me and I hope that, together with my team, I can set a lasting example for more inclusion in sport."