Bild: Leserfoto
Bild: Leserfoto
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Local News Summary of May, 12th

  • Basel muba exhibition opens today with 632 exhibitors
  • It’s official: this is what the champions party of the FC Basel will look like 
  • Basel diocese creates working group for gays and lesbians

Basel muba exhibition opens today with 632 exhibitors

The “muba” trade fair opens its doors today for the 101th time. Mobility and energy are the main topics of the oldest Swiss public exhibition, which is open until 21st May this year.

A Federal councillor traditionally opens the former “Mustermesse”. Johann Schneider-Ammann, councillor of the department for economy, education, and research, will cut the symbolic ribbon at 11am. A public podium discussion is a new addition following the first exhibition round.

This year’s event will see 632 exhibitors demonstrating their products and services – 80 more than in 2016. Compared to last year, more than 50 per cent more exhibition space is being used, the “muba” informs in a statement.

The focus topic “mobility and energy” are not merely providing information but also invite visitors to actively participate. For instance, you can drive through the Gotthard tunnel with a train in a simulation, have a closer look at electric cars or try to generate enough energy to take a photo.

Nine Swiss start-ups are demonstrating their ideas for the main topic ranging from smart electric sockets to innovative E-bikes. All in all, more than 70 young enterprises with lifestyle, design, and technological products are at this year’s “muba”, it is stated. Furthermore, another focal point is a festival with live music and comedy acts, like last year.

During the first “muba” weekend, the crafting exhibition “Creativa” is also taking place. In addition, presumably the largest show for Lego fans, “Bricklive”, will also be exhibited in Basel. However, entry to the Lego show is not included in the muba ticket.

With innovations such as these, the exhibition management board wants to take countermeasures against dropping visitor numbers. During its 100-year jubilee exhibition last year, the former national event counted about 132,000 visitors. When it turned 50 years old, there were still more than a million visitors to “muba”. 

It’s official: this is what the champions party of the FC Basel will look like

With their 20th championship win of the Swiss football league under their belt, FC Basel 1893 will proudly display a second star on its player shirts over the coming season. The team is taking the opportunity to organise a different champions party this year.

On Saturday, 3rd June, all FCB fans are invited to celebrate the second star with the club’s players and managers through a parade through the city centre. The team knows that this second star is not the result of one season victory and therefore wants to have a different champions celebration – surprises are guaranteed.

Yet the most important fact remains: The team celebrates with and for everyone! The party should be as open, uncomplicated, and aware of its traditions as the Swiss champions see themselves. For this, everyone who identifies with the FCB is asked to join in.

The team is looking forward to a large community celebration in the city centre which should become an unforgettable Basel #stärnstund (magical moment). Together with Pro Innerstadt Basel, FCB hopes that all the shops and restaurants in the city will decorate their window displays in the club’s colours of red and blue.

An approximate plan for the celebrations on Saturday, 3rd June:

6pm: Parade starts with different formations and “Waggis” wagons as well as of course traditional Basel music on the followingroute:

Bäumleingasse – Freie Strasse – Markplatz – Eisengasse – Schifflände – Marktgasse – Markplatz – Gerbergasse – Falknerstrasse – Streitgasse – Freie Strasse – Kaufhausgasse

About 7.30pm: End of the parade, players and guests enter the Papa Joe’s restaurant at Barfüsserplatz.

Afterwards, the players of the FCB present themselves on the balcony of the Stadtcasino with the champions cup. There will be interviews with leading characters and personalities from the different champions eras, until about 9.30pm.

Food and refreshments will be sold on Barfüsserplatz as of around 5pm. The entire parade and the festivities at Papa Joe’s will be displayed on a large LED screen on Barfüsserplatz. Furthermore, it is planned that the entire celebrations will be broadcast live on Telebasel and via internet live streaming on fcb.ch as of 6pm. 

The team would like to thank all the authorities and offices for their cooperation in order to realise this project. The 20-time championship winner is happy to celebrate this #stärnstund in the club history with as many fans as possible in Basel’s inner city.

Basel diocese creates working group for gays and lesbians

On the suggestion of bishop Felix Gmür, the “Regenbogenpastoral” working group has been created as part of the Basel diocese. The work group aims to support gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and intersexual Christians.

The diocese aims to improve its pastoral work for these groups, the Basel diocese informed in Solothurn on Thursday. Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken out against the discrimination of people with different sexual orientations.

According to the diocese, the working group is a group-specific service in the same manner as groups for youths, speakers of foreign languages, and migrants.

A flyer by the work group, which has existed since summer 2016, states that it aims to link the lives and spirituality of lesbian, gay, and other people with different sexual orientations “in a perspective of holistic fulfilment”. 

The group also wants to draw attention to the reality of life of these people “in church and in society” and say that prejudice and discrimination should be abolished.

“We all want to be accepted – no matter who we love and how we identify,” the working group stated. “We are part of the multitude of being human.”

Spiritual companionship

According to its own goals,, “Regenbogenpastoral” also wants to provide spiritual companionship for intersexual, transsexual, homosexual, and bisexual people as well as their relatives and friends.

Ten cantons form part of the Basel diocese: Aargau, Bern, Basel-Stadt, Jura, Lucerne, Thurgau, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, and Zug. With more than a million believers, it is the largest diocese of Switzerland.