Basel, Zurich and Geneva at the Expo Milano 2015

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1 Basel, Zurich and Geneva at the Expo Milano 2015 The three biggest cities in Switzerland Zurich, Basel and Geneva are acting as the official city partners in the Swiss Pavilion at the Expo Milano 2015, right between the Italian and German pavilions. The Universal Exposition from 1 May to 31 October 2015 will be devoted to the theme of "Nutrire il Pianeta, Energia per la Vita" (Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life). The purpose of the exhibitions by Zurich, Basel and Geneva is to represent urban and cultural aspects of Switzerland. The content will focus on innovation, especially in the fields of nutritional sciences, sustainable resource usage and food production. At the same time, the city exhibitions will serve as platforms for activities in the fields of culture, tourism and business. The city exhibitions will be presented at the base of the towers of the Swiss Pavilion. First up at the Expo is Basel (1 May to 12 June), followed by Zurich (17 June to 2 August) and Geneva (17 September to 31 October). The three cities are also staging a joint exhibition entitled "Swiss Urban Food Innovation" (from 7 August to 12 September).

2 Spirito di Basilea Where the Rhine makes a sharp turn and leaves Switzerland on its way to the North Sea lies Basel: the charming city at the knee of the Rhine. This special position located where the three countries of Germany, France and Switzerland meet is what the city has to thank for its cosmopolitan outlook, its economic potency and its cultural diversity. Cultural capital of Switzerland Basel is also known as the cultural capital of Switzerland. It is at the forefront of the fine arts, architecture and design in Europe. For such a small city, Basel has an amazing array of cultural offerings: 40 museums, including world-famous institutions like the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Beyeler Foundation, the Theater Basel the biggest establishment in Switzerland offering theatre, opera and ballet a musical theatre and numerous smaller theatres as well as dozens of art galleries and cinemas. With Art Basel, the city hosts the biggest art fair in the world. Added to this is the unique concentration of masterpieces of contemporary architecture that attracts visitors from all over the globe: Herzog & de Meuron, Renzo Piano, Zaha Hadid, Richard Meier and many others have left their mark on Basel. But also the famous Basel Symphony Orchestra, over a thousand concerts a year and numerous top-class music events make Basel a veritable metropolis of culture. High quality of life As numerous studies have shown time and again, Basel is one of the cities around the world offering the best quality of life. The beautiful old town, the numerous parks and recreation areas, the huge range of restaurants, shopping and leisure activities, the clean Rhine and the Euroairport Basel- Mulhouse-Freiburg as the gateway to Europe help ensure that the whole world is welcome and feels at home here in Basel. Dynamic business location The high quality of life goes hand-in-hand with an extraordinarily powerful local economy, the strongest in Switzerland. Basel is one of the most productive and most innovative business locations in the world. Life sciences account for by far the biggest share of value added in the Basel region.

3 Prestigious firms like Novartis, Roche and Syngenta have their head offices here. Basel at the Expo Milano 2015 Humanism, printing and the first university in Switzerland started setting high standards in Basel at an early stage. As the Basel exhibition at the Expo Milano 2015 shows, numerous events and discoveries that have directly or indirectly changed the world can be traced back to Basel. Significant developments in the fields of art and culture, architecture and design, business, science and research that had their beginnings in Basel are highlighted under the slogan «Spirito di Basilea». This will both create the link to the Expo theme of Nutrire il Pianeta, Energia per la Vita (Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life) and spotlight the need for intellectual sustenance.

4 A Sip of Zurich Energy for Life Zurich with its unique location on the lake, medieval old town, many cultural activities and perfectly functioning infrastructure offers a quality of life that is hard for anywhere in the world to match. Zurich's contribution to the Expo Milano aims to show how Zurich became a global centre of excellence for nutrition science with the opening of the World Food System Centre at the ETH Zurich;... Zurich is a sustainable city that cares for the environment;... Zurich is a lively city of culture and creative arts;... Zurich is an extremely attractive destination on the water. The tale of Zurich Water Zurich s exhibition in the Swiss Pavilion portrays all of these aspects to the Expo audience by means of a story built around Zurich Water as the leitmotif. The tale of Zurich Water guides visitors through the stage-managed rooms of the exhibition in four scenes to offer a sip of Zurich s diversity and attractiveness. Lake Zurich heart and soul of the city The story begins with Lake Zurich, where the water gathers from the Alps that can be seen on the horizon down the lake. In Zurich, it is fish trout and daphnia that monitor the cleanness of the drinking water, 70 percent of which comes from the lake, gushing from over 1200 drinking water fountains and each and every tap at home as top quality Zurich Water. Thanks to the unspoilt environment in Zurich, it is possible to go swimming anywhere in the lake or the river right in the city centre, sunbathing in a field within walking distance of downtown or jogging through the woods. A leading European research and education centre The next scene in the story shows how Zurich Water promotes innovation in science and research. As one of Switzerland s and Europe s leading centres of research and education, Zurich hosts not only the best technical university in Europe but also the biggest university in Switzerland and one of the oldest arts universities in Europe: ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and Zurich University of the Arts.

5 Sustainable lifestyle The penultimate scene in the tale is devoted to the sustainable lifestyle, as Zurich Water makes possible the sustainable cultivation of fruit and vegetables in the city. The aquaponic research conducted by Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) is a good example of this. In aquaponics, fish fertilize plants which in turn nourish fish. This involves a closed water/nutrient cycle that operates almost without fresh water supply. Another example is a company called Frau Gerolds Garten, which makes use of the full ecological cycle from producing vegetables in-house to generating biogas from organic waste. And finally, the exhibition itself is also sustainable. It is constructed completely from glass bottles and will be recycled again afterwards. World class culture Last but not least, the way in which Zurich Water generates world-class creative potential in the city of culture before flowing into the clean River Limmat is depicted. Zurich is set to host two exclusive cultural highlights in Manifesta, the European Biennal of Contemporary Art, is coming to Zurich and Dadaism is celebrating its hundredth anniversary «DADA 100 ZURICH 2016» in the city of its birth. At the same time, Zurich is presenting an extensive series of live gigs from June to September spotlighting the young, wild musicians from the city s electro, jazz and pop/rock scene, which no doubt would have pleased the Dadaists. Lastly, a fashion show organized in conjunction with Mode Suisse will turn the platform in the Swiss Pavilion into a catwalk on 30 June for what is sure to be yet another highlight. #visitzurich

6 Geneva a city of its time An excellent quality of life Geneva is one of the ten most liveable cities in the world. This can be attributed in part to its manageable size and its wonderful parks. Its geographical location similarly contributes to this quality of life. Indeed, the show is non-stop in Geneva, from the fascinating Water Fountain and the biggest lake in western Europe to the eternal snows of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe. Local produce, wines and food The city is located in the heart of a canton that boasts huge areas of agricultural land. The most notable sector is viticulture with its wide range of grapes. This makes the city one of the three most productive wine-making areas in Switzerland. Visitors can take a wine tour to become acquainted with the local produce. But Geneva also has some pleasant surprises when it comes to good food, playing host to numerous restaurants that feature in the major culinary guides. A rich and varied cultural life Geneva, with over 30 museums including the Museum of Art and History and the new Ethnographic Museum, is a city of art and culture. Music of all possible styles has a similarly strong presence in Geneva, while cinema holds a place of prominence with numerous annual festivals covering various themes. Over twenty venues in the city dedicated to theatre and dance round out this cultural offer. Watch-making skills Tradition, know-how and innovation are the words that best describe Geneva when it comes to watch-making. Down the generations over the last four centuries, this love of precision, beauty and exclusiveness has helped the city gain its prestige and become the global symbol of luxury watch-making that it is today.

7 An international city Geneva has historically been the venue for numerous international negotiations. It is the birthplace of the International Red Cross and the home of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum. It plays host to the European headquarters of the United Nations and is known as the capital of peace. In addition, more than 200 other international organisations are based in Geneva. At its heart, the city is a melting pot of various cultures that promotes well-being for everyone. A scientific hub Geneva distinguishes itself in the scientific world as well, notably through CERN and its particle accelerator that attracts scientists from all over the world as well as its museums dedicated to science. These include the Natural History Museum, the Conservatory and Botanical Garden and the History of Science Museum that is unique in Switzerland with its collection of old scientific instruments. Expo Milano 2015 : Time to reflect From 17 September to 31 October 2015, Geneva will close out the presence of the cities at the Expo with an artistic project entrusted to the Geneva-based Fabrice Gygi. He will be presenting an aesthetic and sensitive voyage to the heart of water. The vegetated walls system SKYFLOR together with an installation highlighting the importance of recycling materials will also be presented by the Geneva University of Applied Sciences Technology, Architecture and Landscape (hepia). The Universal Exposition is an excellent opportunity to position Geneva, Switzerland s second city and well-known capital of human rights, as a city of culture and sustainable city. The City of Geneva and its institutional and private partners are organising a rich and varied programme of public events in the Swiss Pavilion from 10 to 21 September and 17 to 23 October with a view to addressing the topic of nutrition from the angles of sustainability, science and culture. In addition, numerous artists from Geneva and Lausanne will be performing on the stage in the Swiss Pavilion during this period.