The Zurich Böögg explodes after just under 13 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The head of the traditional Böögg effigy exploded after 12 minutes and 48 seconds at Zurich’s Sechseläuten festival, forecasting a fine summer ahead.
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The Böögg exploded early, but hether it will be such a good summer remains to be seen. As a weather forecaster, the Böögg is not always very reliable.
At 6pm sharp, on the sixth stroke of the bells, the president of the canton of Graubünden, Martin Bühler, lit the log under the Böögg. Not all the guilds had arrived at Sechseläutenplatz by then. Bühler was slightly off the mark with his prediction of 18 minutes.
The sun was shining and the wind was light as the groups of guild riders circled the Böögg for the “Sechseläuten March”. After 10 minutes, the first firecrackers exploded and the flames snaked their way up to the Böögg. While the wood pile burned longer, the winter figure quickly went up in flames.
The celebrity guests of honour from the worlds of music and sport went down particularly well with the visitors, especially singer Beatrice Egli.
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Adapted from German by AI/mga
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