Photo © Didier Jordan
Magicians for life or just for one night will be enchanted by the amazing experiences on offer at Geneva’s museums and art centres on 21 May 2016. Magic is the evocative and unifying theme of this fourth annual Museum Night. 26 institutions have put their collective imaginations to work to provide visitors of all ages with over 170 different activities, including a wide selection for English speakers. The event is coordinated by the Department of Culture and Sport of the City of Geneva.
Amusing, mystical, esoteric or illusionist, magic in all its guises appears Hey Presto! on the programme. This common thread is one of the special features of Museum Night in Geneva, with many institutions proposing a highly creative approach to the theme.
There’s a profusion of magic to delight nature lovers at the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, with strange objects in botanical tomes, magical evening fragrances and the music of plants; Qigong and a guzheng or Chinese zither concert will entertain you at the Baur Foundation; monsters and disturbing figures will materialize at the Bodmer Foundation; there’ll be amazing magic tricks and shows at Les Berges de Vessy, Mamco, the International Red Cross Museum and the Natural History Museum; MEG’s objects will pulsate with magical forces, and visitors can also watch trance-related performances with voodoo drums, whirling dervishes and Moroccan mystics; supernatural figures will appear in the rooms of the International Museum of the Reformation; the Ariana Museum is celebrating the alchemy and magic of porcelain; magicians of ancient times and a pharaoh cut in half are some of the surprising speed dating themes at the Museum of Art and History; strange phenomena associated with radiant matter will be demonstrated at the History of Science Museum; the manuscript of Zaïre (The Tragedy of Zara), Voltaire’s most famous tragedy, will be on display at the Voltaire Museum; minerals will magically change colour at the Natural History Museum; while ritual objects will be examined - "Magic or Religion?" - at the University of Geneva’s collection of casts. Finally, projection mapping performances will light up MEG at nightfall.
Lausanne Palace & Spa, Sunday 22 May 2016
The Léman International Fair will celebrate its 10th birthday by holding two fairs at two new locations in Lausanne this year. The first of these is scheduled to take place on 22 May at the 5-star Lausanne Palace & Spa, an ideal location for the international and Swiss communities living along Lake Geneva or in the Canton of Vaud.
With an accent on learning in all its senses, this special birthday edition will offer something for all ages, and will focus on organizations that provide services like summer camps, wine courses, and wellbeing. Visitors will also have the opportunity to find out more about local resorts including hotels and golf centers as well as thermal baths. Entry to the fair is free and open to all.
Created 10 years ago by Léman Events Sarl as an event for Expats, the fair has now evolved into an occasion not just for Expats, but Locals and Swiss Residents too. Whether you have only just arrived, or have lived here all your life, you can be sure of discovering something new at the Léman International Fair!
The public has been invited to celebrate HM Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th Birthday at a special Garden Party to be held in the magnificent grounds of the Geneva English School on Saturday, 28 May 2016.
With views over Lake Léman and the Haute Savoie, the school is a perfect location for the Garden Party, which is being organized by the Romandie West Region of the British Residents’ Association of Switzerland in collaboration with the Royal British Legion, the Royal Air Forces Association, the Commonwealth Association of Geneva, the Royal Over-Seas League, the British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce Geneva Chapter, the Victoria British Aid Fund and the Rolls Royce Enthusiasts’ Club.
The Guest of Honour will be the British Ambassador to Switzerland, HE David Moran, who will propose the Loyal Toast. The dress code for the occasion will be `smart casual ́ or national dress and decorations may be worn.
On its way from Olympia to Brazil, the Olympic flame will be stopping off in Lausanne. For all those with a burning desire to find out more about this flame, you can go to The Olympic Museum for a special event of free activities being held this weekend, Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May 2016.
From Olympia, where it is lit, to the stadium in the host city, the Olympic flame marks the approach of each edition of the Games through the ritual of the torch relay. On Thursday 21 April, the flame for the Rio 2016 Games was lit in Olympia. It has been traveling around Greece and then, before leaving for Brazil, it will make a brief stopover in Switzerland!
On Friday 29 April 2016, it will be presented at the UN headquarters in Geneva, before heading to The Olympic Museum in the afternoon, via the lake, carried in its safety lamp – on a rowing boat. A nod to the sport much loved by Pierre de Coubertin!
A ceremony will be held in its honour in the presence of IOC President Thomas Bach, Rio 2016 Organising Committee President Carlos NUZMAN and various personalities from the canton and commune invited for the occasion.
On Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May, the general public can discover the flame which will light up the Games in Rio this summer. It will burn in the Rio 2016 cauldron installed at the Museum entrance. As such, it will join the Olympic fire which burns constantly under the benevolent gaze of Pierre de Coubertin’s statue. The flame will then head off towards Brasilia at the end of the day on Monday 2 May.
The last time the Olympic flame was in Lausanne was during the relay for the Games in Athens in 2004; and before that it was for the 1948 Games in London. In both cases, it was part of the official relay, with torches and torchbearers. This year, it is a flame presentation.
To mark this great first, The Museum is organising an event weekend open to everyone. The programme includes a special exhibition, mini-visits of the flame and relay, creative workshops, film screenings and concerts. All this will be free of charge, with no need to reserve beforehand (except for the brunches).
The countdown is on for one of Europe’s most anticipated and lavish annual fundraising events, the Geneva Charity Ball (GCB). With this year’s "Red Carpet" theme, the 2016 Ball looks set to be one of the best gala events yet.
Hailed as “a must-attend event on the European expatriate social calendar” by The Telegraph, more than 300 guests, amongst them leading figures from the worlds of business, finance and media, are expected to attend this year’s event, which is being held at the Grand Hôtel Kempinski in Geneva on Saturday 30th April.
Featuring a glitzy champagne reception, a gastronomic dinner, auction, and luxury raffle as well as live music performances and a DJ, the Organizational Committee is hoping to raise a record-breaking amount of money for the GCB’s two Geneva-based children’s charities: Paidos, a Swiss NGO helping distressed teenagers reintegrate into society; and Clair Bois, the largest institution for poly-handicapped children in the canton of Geneva.
