Public in Switzerland warned about fake tickets being on sale for the Eurovision; Basel will pay car owners to give up their vehicles; and more news in our roundup on Wednesday.
Eurovision: Beware of fake tickets
As the second phase of ticket sales for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) — to be held May 13th to 17th in Basel — will begin tomorrow, fans should be cautious where they purchase their tickets for the event.
That’s because “scams are flourishing on the internet,” Swiss media warned.
For instance, you may pay up to 1,900 francs for premium-seat tickets from some legitimate-looking websites, only to find out on the day of the event that they are not valid.
Therefore, ESC organisers are taking measures that black-market vendors do not: tickets are nominative — the only ones that will be valid for entry.
The official reseller is TicketCorner, and for peer-to-peer exchanges, Fansale.ch platform is also legitimate, organisers said.
And speaking of Basel…
Yes, you can make money while saving the environment
Basel-City authorities have come up with this idea: residents who give up their cars, will receive a one-time bonus of 1,500 francs.
The aim of this project is to encourage households to abandon their automobiles in favour of public transport or other means of ‘green mobility’’
The cantonal government has released 700,000 francs from its mobility fund on Tuesday to finance this programme.
It suggests the money be used to purchase public transport season tickets, Reka Rail mobility credits, or bicycles and e-bikes.
The initiative aims to reduce local air pollution, CO2 emissions, and noise, the local government said.
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Switzerland is ranked third in Europe (and seventh worldwide) in term of patents
With nearly 10,000 applications submitted in 2024, Switzerland recorded its fourth consecutive year for the number os patent filings in 2024
This is according to the annual report of the European Patent Office (EPO), published on Tuesday.
One of the reasons Switzerland is among the patent-submission leaders, is that researchers at its two top universities, polytechnic institutes of Zurich (ETH) and Lausanne (EPFL), are known their ingenuity.
In fact, in the annual UN ranking, the Global Innovation Index, Switzerland has occupied first place for the 14th consecutive year.
The Index tracks the most recent global innovation trends of 133 countries on 80 indicators, including research, technology, infrastructure, and logistics.
According to the report, “Switzerland is still the global leader in innovation ranking, in the first place for knowledge, technology and creative outputs.”
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at news@thelocal.ch
