Events in the year 2024 in Switzerland. Incumbents
President of the Swiss Confederation: Viola Amherd President of the National Council: Eric Nussbaumer President of the Swiss Council of States: Eva Herzog
Events February 20 February – In ice hockey, Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League wins their first Champions Hockey League title, defeating Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League 3–2 in the final.
March 3 March – 2024 Swiss referendums: Voters accept the initiative to increase monthly pensions, but reject raising the retirement age. 11 March – Five skiers are found dead after they went missing two days ago en route from Zermatt to the village of Arolla. A sixth person is still missing. 30 March–7 April – The 2024 World Men's Curling Championship at Schaffhausen.
April 9 April – The European Court of Human Rights rules that the Swiss government's efforts to tackle climate change are insufficient and violate fundamental human rights, in its first such verdict against a state on the issue, following a lawsuit filed by about 2,500 members of the group Senior Women for Climate Protection. 17 April – The Federal Assembly votes to ban public displays of the Nazi swastika.
May 11 May – Swiss singer Nemo wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden with the song The Code. 15 May – In a suspected terrorist attack, a man stabs six people in Zofingen.
June 9 June – 2024 Swiss referendums: Voters reject limits on healthcare spending and an initiative against compulsory vaccination, while approving the initiative of a new law on electricity. 13 June – Two people are killed and 11 others are injured following a series of explosions inside an underground parking garage at an apartment building in Obersiggenthal. 15-16 June – June 2024 Ukraine peace summit: World leaders meet at the Bürgenstock Resort to advance the Ukrainian peace process. 21 June – A court in Geneva sentences billionaire Prakash Hinduja and three of his family members to four years in prison for exploiting domestic workers at their villa in Cologny. 22 June – One person is killed and two others are reported missing after a rockslide hits the town of Lostallo in Graubünden. 25 June – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elects former Swiss president Alain Berset as the Council's new Secretary General, succeeding Marija Pejčinović Burić. 30 June – Four people are killed and two are missing after landslides and torrential floods in Ticino and Valais.
July 11 July – Five people are injured in a machete attack inside an apartment in Saint Gallen. The suspect is arrested. 12 July – Three people are killed and eight others are injured after scaffolding falls off an under construction building in Lausanne. 23 July – The United States invites Sudan's military and the Rapid Support Forces to ceasefire talks in Switzerland on 14 August.
August
28 August – The Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland convicts two PetroSaudi executives to six and seven years in prison respectively for embezzling more than US$1.8 billion from the Malaysian strategic development firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad. 30 August – Basel is selected to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, defeating a rival bid from Geneva.
September
10 September – A Swiss appeals court convicts Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan of rape and sexual coercion. He receives a three-year prison sentence, with two years suspended. Ramadan still faces multiple other rape allegations in both Switzerland and France. 22 September – 2024 Swiss referendums: Voters reject proposals to increase public funding to create wilderness areas, increase the amount of territory occupied by protected areas and pension reform. 23 September – An American woman dies after using a sarco pod to commit assisted suicide in Merishausen, Schaffhausen Canton. Several people are subsequently arrested in connection with the incident. 27 September – Cyclist Muriel Furrer dies after sustaining serious head injuries in a crash while participating in the 2024 UCI Road World Championships in Zurich the previous day. Switzerland officially redefines parts of its border with Italy following topographical changes caused by melting glaciers.
October
1 October – Three children are injured in a knife attack at a daycare centre in Oerlikon, Zürich. The suspect, a 23-year old Chinese national, is arrested.
November 24 November – 2024 Swiss referendums: Voters reject proposals for additional road infrastructure and rent changes, while approving changes to healthcare funding. In Basel, 66.4% of voters approve funding additional programs for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 to be hosted in the city, apart from the event's final. 28 November–15 December – The 2024 European Women's Handball Championship at Basel.
December 7 December – Twenty-six people are hospitalised following an incident of carbon monoxide poisoning at a campsite in Giswil.
Art and entertainment
List of Swiss submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
Holidays
1 January - New Year's Day 2 January - Berchtoldstag Day 6 January - Epiphany 1 March - Republic Day 19 March - Saint Joseph's Day 29 March - Good Friday 1 April - Easter Monday 4 April - Näfels Ride 1 May - International Workers' Day 9 May - Ascension Day 20 May - Whit Monday 30 May - Corpus Christi 29 June - Saints Peter and Paul 1 August - Swiss National Day 15 August - Assumption Day 5 September - Jeûne genevois 15 September - Lundi du Jeûne 25 September - Saint Nicholas of Flüe Day 1 November - All Saints' Day 8 December – Immaculate Conception 25 December - Christmas Day 26 December – Saint Stephen's Day 31 December – Restoration Day
Deaths
1 January – Niklaus Wirth, 89, computer scientist (Pascal). 6 January – Kurt W. Forster, 88, architecture historian and teacher. 14 January – Christophe Boesch, 72, French-Swiss primatologist. 20 January – Jacques Guhl, 101, writer, poet, and footballer (Lausanne-Sport, Sion). 29 May – Claude Torracinta, 89, Swiss journalist. 18 August – Ulrike Hoffmann-Richter, German psychiatrist.
References
External links Online calendar