First-of-August celebrations with positive stock-taking of the first half of the Swiss Pavilion’s exhibition time in Shanghai

The Swiss Pavilion has celebrated Switzerland’s national day, the First of August, in Shanghai with a folkloric ceremony in the presence of the FDFA’s Secretary General, Roberto Balzaretti, and numerous guests from the Swiss Club Shanghai. Musical entertainment was provided in the form of performances by the Wiesenberg Yodelling Club and the Engiadina Alphorn Ensemble. The official speech by the Federal President, Doris Leuthard, was also broadcast at the ceremony. She is scheduled to visit the Swiss Pavilion on the Exhibition’s Swiss Day, namely 12 August.  

The start of the new month also represents the beginning of the second half of the exhibition time for the Swiss Pavilion. Switzerland is going to continue to present itself to the Chinese public until 31 October on the theme of rural-urban interaction in the context of Switzerland’s communication abroad. Roberto Balzaretti commented that “it is most gratifying that Switzerland has succeeded in standing out from the crowd at this World Exhibition of Superlatives. In taking stock of the first half of the exhibition time, our view is very positive indeed”.  

Right from the beginning, the Swiss Pavilion has been one of the most popular and most noticed pavilions at the World Exhibition. In the first three months, it has attracted more than 1.1 million visitors, including high-ranking delegations. The Chinese media have reported on the Swiss presence in around a thousand contributions since 1 May. In addition to that, numerous companies from various sectors of private business in Switzerland are using the platform for events of their own held in the Swiss Pavilion’s VIP Lounge.

Further information and download:
www.schweizerpavillon.ch
www.mydrive.ch
User Name: media@swisspavilion
Passwort: swisspavilion 

For further information in Switzerland
Xenia Schlegel, Presence Switzerland, head of the marketing and communication team,
major international events, Tel. +41 (0)31 322 58 86 

For further information in Shanghai
Clelia Kanai Presence Switzerland, member of the marketing and communication team,
major international events, Tel. +86 158 2150 6975  

Presence Switzerland, as part of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), is responsible for presenting and fostering a positive image of Switzerland and for implementing the Federal Council’s strategy on Switzerland’s communication abroad.
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Presence Switzerland is responsible for Switzerland’s communication abroad through carrying out projects in other countries, inviting foreign media representatives and decision-makers to visit Switzerland, developing and disseminating information about Switzerland in other countries, and also through Switzerland’s participation in major international events, such as the Olympic Games or world exhibitions. 

World exhibitions are prestigious  platforms directed at an international public and play an important role from both a political and economic point of view as well as in a scientific and cultural sense. They provide an opportunity to impart knowledge, to set up and expand networks and to create and improve the image of a country abroad. 

On 29 March 2006, the Swiss Federal Council gave the go-ahead for Switzerland’s participation at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The project management of the official Swiss Pavilion was delegated to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Presence Switzerland. Apart from the official Swiss Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai and the House of Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, Switzerland’s positioning in China is supported by the interdisciplinary public relations programme for 2007-2011 under the supervision of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Presence Switzerland. 

Address for enquiries:

Information FDFA
Bundeshaus West
CH-3003 Bern
Tel.: (+41) 031 322 31 53
Fax: (+41) 031 324 90 47
E-Mail: info@eda.admin.ch

Publisher:

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs