Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA

Cultural event in honour of the Diplomatic Corps at the KKL in Lucerne

Bern, Press releases, 20.05.2015

Acoustics, architecture and direct democracy: these were the main themes of this year’s cultural event in honour of the diplomatic corps. The unifying element was the venue of the event – the Culture and Convention Centre KKL Luzern – where President Simonetta Sommaruga had invited the accredited foreign ambassadors to Switzerland on Wednesday. Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), was also present at the cultural event in Lucerne.

The KKL, designed by the architect Jean Nouvel, was hailed as an architectural masterpiece on Wednesday and as an outstanding venue for musical performances. At the same time, a further aim of the event was to explain to the foreign diplomats the direct democratic process by which the KKL came about. "The more that citizens are involved in political decisions, the greater their trust in the political system", said President Sommaruga in her address.

Lucerne Cantonal Councillor Yvonne Schärli-Gerig, the head of the Justice and Security Department, explained the history of the KKL from the canton's perspective, a project that was the subject of a number of popular votes. Another of the speeches related to the acoustics and architecture of the centre, which was opened in 1998. The doyen of the diplomatic corps, the Apostolic nuncio, Monseigneur Diego Causero, also addressed the assembled diplomats.Young musicians from the Lucerne University of Applied Arts and Sciences provided a musical interlude between the speeches.

The invitation, which the President of the Swiss Confederation extends on behalf of the Federal Council to all ambassadors accredited in Switzerland, is a fixed item in the diplomatic calendar. In even years, the excursion takes the ambassadors to a particular region of the country, and in odd years to a cultural event. The invitation is intended to foster contacts at the highest level with the accredited representatives of foreign states in Switzerland.

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Last update 23.04.2025

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