A Geneva woman in her thirties visited the Botanical Garden in Geneva with her two small children on Saturday morning. As they passed the greenhouse, the woman suddenly saw two dark legs hanging in the air in front of the door frame.
«I immediately thought it was a person who had hanged himself and that we came across her body were.” She was immediately overcome by nausea and blocked the view of her two daughters. The mother was afraid her children would also be traumatized by the scene.
Police notified
“There was a young person behind me and I asked her to call the police while I had to get my children away as quickly as possible,” the woman continues.
A few minutes later, the person who called the police came back to calm her down. The “corpse” is actually a huge puppet. «I felt really bad. From a distance I was convinced it was a body. It was terrible.”
“Never hesitate to call 117”
The Geneva canton police confirmed that they received a call to this effect on Saturday morning. However, she clarifies that the caller called back moments later to say that it was actually a doll that was being used as part of a performance. “Our officers still went on site to check the facts, as is usual,” explains spokeswoman Aline Dard.
And although the story ultimately ended well, she wants to reassure: “This person did the right thing by contacting us. If in doubt, you should never hesitate to call 117.”
A doll that required a complex construction
When asked, the spokeswoman for the Botanical Garden explains that the giant puppet belongs to the Geneva Marionette Theater and was loaned to the Cirque Coquino from Morges as part of a performance during the “Night of the Museums”, which took place on Saturday from 6 p.m.
The structure of the doll is complex. “That’s why it was hung in the greenhouse after a dress rehearsal that took place on the Wednesday afternoon before the event,” explains Nathalie Mivelaz Tirabosco. She emphasized that an explanatory sign was placed at the entrance to the greenhouse on Thursday afternoon. “Our gardeners, who were on site during their working hours, also answered the audience’s questions and concerns.”
However, she states that she was not informed of a possible police operation and that Saturday evening “was very successful with the audience”.
“I don’t want to burden the artists or the botanical garden.”
The Geneva woman says that despite the moment of shock, she still had a very nice day in the botanical garden. «I will not boycott the Botanical Garden, ever! It’s a beautiful and very well maintained place. And I definitely don’t want to burden the circus artists, who certainly do a great job.”
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Sophie Zuber (szu) has been a journalist at 20 minutes since 2018. She started there in the Stars & Co. section before moving to the web team.
