A section of the Alps on Friday night turned amber in a massive pyrotechnic display as Switzerland marked its national day with an event suited to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing rules.
The mountain chains of Veisivi and Dent de Perroc, which tower nearly 4,000m in the southern canton of Wallis, saw more than 100kg of magnesium powder ignited in the event.
Although Swiss National Day is on Aug. 1, many people celebrate the night before. The date marks the foundation of Switzerland in 1291.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The show, which illuminated 12km2 of the mountains, was visible from 20km away.
“It is like 100 million candles being lit on the mountains and gives them a lovely warm glow,” said organizer Jacques Morard, who runs Jimagine, an events company in Montreux, Switzerland.
“Lots of people around Switzerland normally have fireworks to celebrate our national day, but they weren’t able to this year because of distancing regulations,” he said.
Gatherings of more than 1,000 people are banned to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Thousands of spectators gathered in the Evolene valley below to see the three-minute-long display, at a safe distance from each other.
The show followed a similar display in 2015, when magnesium powder was used to turn mountains red for the anniversary of Wallis joining Switzerland, an event also organized by Morard.
Morard, 62, said that many events he was organizing this year had to be canceled because of COVID-19.
“As a Swiss person I am very proud to have an idea which works to mark our national day and bring some joy even in this terrible situation,” Morard added.
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