Gurtenfestival The festival summer has arrived at the Gurten in Bern

The first queue formed in front of the Gurtenbahn and the taps were already running at full speed: the 41st edition of the Bern Gurten Festival began on Wednesday. The organizers are expecting up to 80,000 visitors by Saturday.

Although the shady spots on Bern's local mountain were already well occupied on Wednesday afternoon, the entire capacity was not yet fully utilized: Day passes could still be purchased, except for Friday.

Singer-songwriter Naveni from Biel was one of the first of the 135 acts to perform. As one of four winners of the Waldbühne Contest, she opened the concert afternoon. With her soulful vocals, she was able to lure numerous music lovers from the DJ tents into the sun.

Following Naveni on the program were the first two headliners of the festival, British rapper Stormzy and dancehall and hip-hop artist Peter Fox. Among the other acts announced for the festival are Afrobeat musician Burna Boy and Canadian pop star Nelly Furtado.

Gurten has a new look

One thing that regular Gurten-goers are likely to notice is the new look of the stage coverings and lettering. The most visible change to this year's edition is the rebranding, explained media spokeswoman Lena Fischer when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency.

A number of measures are also planned in connection with the forecast warm temperatures. According to Fischer, more parasols will be used and water will be distributed when it gets really hot. Fischer also reminded everyone: "It's always a few degrees cooler on the Gurten than in the city!"

SDA