Basel Carnival Kicks Off With Early Morning March

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) At the stroke of 4am on Monday, the street lights went out in Basel's city centre for the carnival kick-off, known as Morgenstreich. In dry weather, the streets and squares were transformed into a sea of lanterns, accompanied by the sounds of piccolos and drums. This content was published on March 10, 2025 - 09:45 2 minutes Keystone-SDA

• Deutsch de Basel taucht mit mildem Morgenstreich in die dreitägige Fasnacht Original Read more: Basel taucht mit mildem Morgenstreich in die dreitägige Fasnach
• Português pt Carnaval da Basileia abre com desfile matinal Read more: Carnaval da Basileia abre com desfile matina
• Русский ru Базель погрузился в трёхдневный карнавал Read more: Базель погрузился в трёхдневный карнава

“Morgestraich onwards, march!” went the chorus after the bells rang out, followed by the sound of drums and piccolos. The Morgenstreich always begins with the march of the same name.

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Thousands of carnival revellers paraded through the streets and alleyways with their instruments and head lanterns on their“larva” behind the large procession lanterns.

The carnival revellers dress in“Charivari costumes”, that is, with individual outfits and masks. The Guggenmusik bands and float cliques will join them for the big parade in the afternoon.

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This content was published on Feb 20, 2024 The Swiss have been letting their hair down this month to mark the colourful carnival season.

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In the darkened city centre, tens of thousands of onlookers stood in temperatures of around 8°C and watched the spectacle of carnival lanterns and drum and piccolo marches. The first traffic jams of cliques soon formed in the narrow streets.

The morning march also gave a first impression of the subjects that the cliques play out during the three days of festivities. This year, the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel is the main theme. Another theme is the centenary of the birth of Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely.

The carnival will take over Basel for three days. On Monday afternoon, the parade once again will attract tens of thousands of onlookers to the city. A total of 11,485 people in 442 units are registered for this year's parade on Monday and Wednesday.

Adapted from German with DeepL/gw

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