People in traditional dress gather on Rütli on Swiss National Day

People in traditional dress will gather at the Rütli on 1 August

Keystone-SDA

Several hundred people arrived at the Rütli meadow in canton Uri, central Switzerland, on Saturday morning for the Swiss National Day celebrations. A particularly large number are wearing traditional dress this year.

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As the Swiss Traditional Costume Association is celebrating its centenary, it has been invited as a guest of honour to the August 1 celebrations. Even on the boat journey from Brunnen to the Rütli, the people in traditional costume set the mood and danced to live Ländler music.

Although the official costumes are rather traditional, the people wearing them are very diverse, Anders Stokholm told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA. Stokholm is president of the Swiss Charitable Society, which is organising the celebrations at the Rütli.

The official ceremony will take place in the early afternoon. The keynote speaker will be Economics Minister Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year.

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