GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland's long-celebrated yodeling has received a response from the U.N. cultural agency: The Alpine tradition of chant and song is indeed worthy of classification in a list of the world's cultural heritage.
A committee of Paris-based UNESCO, meeting in New Delhi, on Thursday listed yodeling in its list of intangible cultural heritage.
Yodeling was selected among 67 traditions honored by UNESCO in the Indian capital, including Italian cooking, Ghanaian highlife music, the fermented Kyrgyz beverage Maksym and the El Joropo music and dance tradition in Venezuela.
The list is different from the UNESCO World Heritage List, which enshrines protections for physical sites that are considered important to humanity, like the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
"Yodeling can be performed by individuals, small groups or choirs, and sometimes with instruments like the accordion," said UNESCO.
“It features rich harmonics and is often performed at concerts, parties and competitions, with participants typically wearing traditional regional costumes,” the assessment said.
Switzerland’s government pushed the candidacy with UNESCO, and promoters insist it's far more than the mountain cries of yesteryear by falsetto-bellowing male herders in suspenders on green mountainsides: It's also a popular form of singing.
The government says at least 12,000 yodelers take part through about 780 groups of the Swiss Yodeling Association.
A group of Swiss Alphorn blowers arrive at the Yodel Festival in Davos, Switzerland, July 5, 2014. (Arno Balzarini/Keystone via AP)
FILE - Yodel teacher Nadja Raess yodels in Lucerne, Switzerland, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
ÅRE, Sweden (AP) — Austrian skier Julia Scheib locked up the women’s World Cup giant slalom title Saturday, winning the penultimate race of the season after first-run leader Camille Rast skied out.
The victory gave Scheib an insurmountable lead of 189 points over her Swiss rival in the GS standings.
“It feels very special, winning the giant slalom globe has been a goal of mine for many years. To achieve it today means a lot to me, said Scheib, the ninth Austrian winner of this globe but the first since Eva-Maria Brem took it in 2016.
Scheib denied Paula Moltzan a first career victory, finishing 0.36 seconds ahead of the American. Alice Robinson of New Zealand was 0.75 behind in third.
Mikaela Shiffrin improved from 12th following a costly mistake in the opening run to finish fifth and protect her lead in the overall standings.
Shiffrin lost just five points on Germany's Emma Aicher, who finished the race in a career-best fourth, and won 55 points on Rast.
Shiffrin now leads Aicher by 120 points and Rast by 223 and could increase her lead in Sunday’s slalom, which is the American star’s strongest event.
After this weekend, only the World Cup Finals with four races remain.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Austria's Julia Scheib celebrates winning a women's World Cup giant slalom, in Are, Sweden, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
United States' Paula Moltzan speeds down the course during a women's World Cup giant slalom, in Are, Sweden, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Austria's Julia Scheib speeds down the course during a women's World Cup giant slalom, in Are, Sweden, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Switzerland's Camille Rast speeds down the course during a women's World Cup giant slalom, in Are, Sweden, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during a women's World Cup giant slalom, in Are, Sweden, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during a women's World Cup giant slalom, in Are, Sweden, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
