Image: © Thomas Gschwend, "Em Bebbi sy Jazz"
Image: © Thomas Gschwend, "Em Bebbi sy Jazz"
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Local News Summary of August, 14th

  • «Em Bebbi sy Jazz»: Want to stand on stage yourself? No problem!
  • Free skin cancer test at 38th Rhine Swimming in Basel
  • Abandoned car causes mass collision on A5 towards Basel

«Em Bebbi sy Jazz»: Want to stand on stage yourself? No problem!

The world's largest one-day jazz concert will be staged in Basel on Friday. The organizing committee of «Em Bebbi sy Jazz» yesterday presented not only the new locations for the event but also the virtual opportunity for visitors to stand on the stage themselves.

The Internet was still in its infancy when «Em Bebbi sy Jazz» turned Basel's old town into a big stage event for the first time 35 years ago. Smartphones were far away into the future. This year, visitors to the great Basel jazz evening will experience a concert in virtual reality for the first time. Together with the «Gässli Film Festival», the project «360° Musikvideos» was created. Anyone who has always wanted to be on a stage or be part of a music video can finally get the opportunity. In the Filmhaus im Gerbergässlein concerts, rehearsals or music videos can be experienced with virtual reality glasses - right in the middle, so to speak. Numerous bands from this year's programme followed the call to record a rehearsal, a concert or even a staged music video with a 360° camera.

Something for everyone

However, this virtual experience has no influence on the programme of what the organisers call the «probably the world's largest one-day jazz concert». Musically, the concert is, as usual, broadly supported: From New Orleans Jazz, Blues and modern developments to Swing, Latin, Singer Songwriter - everything is there and will be seen or rather heard. True to the motto: There is something for every taste. The focus this year is on «Funk & Soul».

As always, the concert in the city centre starts on Friday after the summer holidays at 6pm. «The first street bands will then march down Freie Strasse», Peter Eichenberger, organisational president, said.

The Locations

The concert area covers 700 by 700 metres, from the market square to Barfüsserplatz, up to the Lyss and from there down to the so-called «Bermuda Triangle». The concert area is like every year, except for four changes: There will be no concert in the «Sperber», as the Hotel Basel is currently undergoing renovation. Due to the tragic death of its director last Friday, the Pharmaceutical Museum is not taking part. The planned concerts will take place on Andreasplatz.

For the first time, an additional street band stage will be erected on the Nadelberg. «These stages are highly appreciated by the audience and meet the needs of visitors», Peter Eichenberger said. Music is also played in the beautiful courtyard of the town house.

The morning after

On Saturday after that, the jazz continues at the Stadthaus. On «Citizens' Community Day», «Patchvox» in the morning and «Flagstaff» in the afternoon will offer the musical supporting programme for the winning projects of the «Innovation Basel» ideas competition, which the Basel guilds and societies are organising for the second time. You can see and test the Basel city mushrooms, a bicycle made of bamboo and a special fertilizer. Who knows, maybe at the next «Em Bebbi sy Jazz» people will be using the bamboo bikes.

Free skin cancer test at 38th Rhine Swimming in Basel

Do you have a birthmark or mole that seems suspicious to you? Have dermatologists test you free of charge on Basel's 38th Rhine Swim.

Switzerland leads a sad record: Nowhere else in Europe do so many people suffer from melanoma. Prevention is the best remedy. Today, (Tuesday), experts will therefore be examining conspicuous moles free of charge at the Cancer League information stand at the start, near Schaffhauserrheinweg 75 during Basel’s 38th Rhine Swim.

Today from 4pm to 7pm, practising dermatologists will offer free initial examinations of suspicious or unclear moles at the information stand of the Basel Cancer League. In addition, a prevention bus of the Cancer League is available to visitors. This makes cancer prevention easier. The interactive exhibition illustrates various topics of cancer prevention and early cancer detection and provides important information and tips on how to minimize personal cancer risk.

Abandoned car causes mass collision on A5 towards Basel

A car which had been abandoned caused a major collision on the A5 near Offenburg on Monday night, which left several people injured.

The car had been parked at Renchen near Offenburg on the breakdown lane of the A5 towards Freiburg and Basel on Sunday night, without its lights on. One car collided with the parked car, pushing it into the fast lane, which caused subsequent accidents involving a further three vehicles. Seven people were injured in the accident, three of them seriously.

The entire section of motorway had to be temporarily closed because of scattered debris. The roadway in the direction of Karlsruhe could be reopened within a short time. In the southern direction, however, the A5 remained closed. Only on Monday morning a lane could be reopened. Due to the clearance work, the remaining tracks from Achern to Appenweier will remain closed until further notice. There is a traffic jam of up to 3 km on the affected route and traffic delays across the region.

It is still unclear where the driver of the unmanned vehicle had gone. The police are looking for him by helicopter and with a rescue dog patrol.