Heat forces yodelers at annual Swiss festival to sing in fountains

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — City fountains became impromptu rehearsal spaces this weekend as yodelers at a festival in Basel, Switzerland, squeezed in last-minute practice while cooling off during Europe’s June heat wave.

At one fountain, a folk band dipped their toes in the water on Saturday, as festivalgoers clapped along or cooled their hands under the flowing stream.

From Friday to Sunday, singers and alphorn players filled the streets and spontaneous bursts of yodeling echoed through restaurants, where diners initially reacted with surprise before joining in.

In Petersplatz, in central Basel, seamstresses remained on call throughout the festival to repair the traditional Alpine folk costumes worn by participants in case of emergency.

This year, however, it was the fountain rehearsals that became the festival’s defining image, as the city battled record temperatures of around 39 Celsius (102 Fahrenheit).

Around 12,000 performers and nearly 200,000 visitors traveled to Basel for the Eidgenössisches Jodlerfest, Switzerland’s national yodeling festival. It was the first time the northwestern Swiss city hosted the event since 1924.

Swiss yodeling was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2025, making this the first national festival since the tradition received international recognition. It is a distinction many Swiss take great pride in.

Unlike the brighter, more melodic style often associated with Austria and the Tyrol region, Swiss yodeling is slower and more melancholic — an emotionally nuanced tradition rooted in distinct regional dialects.

"I’ve always loved music, and I left here as a child. When I moved back to New Zealand, I wanted to stay connected to Swiss culture, so I joined a New Zealand-Swiss-Kiwi yodeling club,” said Freddie Conquer, a member of Jodlerclub Echo Basel, one of the clubs hosting the festival.

The participants competed in three disciplines: yodeling, alphorn playing and flag-throwing.

The alphorn is a long wooden instrument traditionally used by herdsmen in the Alps. It can stretch to more than 3 meters (10 feet) in length, with its sound carrying across valleys — or, during the festival, through Basel’s streets. It produces all of its pitches using natural harmonics alone, with no valves or keys.

“Everything is down to the mouthpiece, hearing the note in your head, and then using your lips to shape the pitch. The higher the note, the harder you have to blow,” said Pierre-André Karlen, who was rehearsing on a school lawn.

On Sunday morning, participants gathered outside the town hall, eagerly awaiting the competition results. Members of Jodlerklub Balfrin, from the town of Visp in the canton of Valais, were nervously examining the lists and later celebrated loudly after receiving a perfect score of one, one of several such teams.

As flags were carried through the old town during the festival’s closing parade, members of Jodlerklub Muttenz rode past on a tractor to cheers from the crowd. Alphorn players followed — their instruments and costumes almost certainly a burden in the heavy heat, but the smiles remained.

Yodelers prepare for TV broadcast on the main festival stage at Petersplatz in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jez Fielder)

A group of Alpine Horn players stand at the Peters square in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jez Fielder)

Freddie Byars from the UK and Freddie Conquer from New Zealand representing Jodler club Echo Basel as they pose outside at the Martins church in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jez Fielder)

A group of yodellers stay cool in the shade outside the Martins church in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jez Fielder)

Yodeling women wear traditional clothes as they pose in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jez Fielder)

JAKARTA, Indonesia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 30, 2026--

Ampowr has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indonesia's Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Kemendes PDT) to bring reliable, clean electricity to villages with little or no power. The agreement was signed in Jakarta by Secretary General Taufik Madjid and Ampowr's Indonesian entity, PT Ampowr IES Indonesia, building on the company's existing sales presence in the city.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260630616370/en/

Indonesia has 75,266 villages, according to the Ministry. Thousands still lack electricity, and many that are connected receive power for only part of the day, in some cases as little as eight hours.

The MoU proves the feasibility of solar photovoltaic (PV), battery energy storage (BESS), and energy-management software through a pilot in four villages. Setting the basis for expanding to as many as 300, and frames a long-term pathway to electrify every unelectrified village in Indonesia. The work moves in stages: prove the model in four villages, expand to 300, then extend nationally.

Cosmos, Ampowr's energy management software (EMS), coordinates solar, storage, and backup supply so a village receives steady power across the day. Ampowr integrates the hardware, runs the software, and maintains the assets under one contract, the same full-stack model it operates in the Netherlands.

"Accessible electricity is the foundation for everything a village needs to grow: a clinic that can keep medical supplies cold, a school that stays open after sunset, a farmer who can protect a harvest," said Eric van Honk, Co-CEO of Ampowr. "We will begin with four villages and a clear path to 300 and beyond. That gives communities, the government, and long-term investors a model they can trust and repeat."

The partnership aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 7, 4, 3, and 2. Its scope includes capacity building so communities can run their own systems and develop durable local energy businesses. The signing was attended by H.E. Marc Gerritsen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and ASEAN.

Ampowr and Kemendes PDT will next move to a feasibility study before implementation begins in the pilot villages.

About Ampowr. Ampowr is a Dutch full-stack battery energy storage company headquartered in Utrecht. It integrates, operates, and manages BESS under a single contract, combining hardware integration, its proprietary Cosmos energy-management software, grid-service access, and long-term maintenance, with offices supporting the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, China, and Indonesia.

Ampowr and Indonesia's Ministry of Villages Sign Agreement to Electrify Communities Without Reliable Power

Secretary General (Sekjen) of the Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Kemendes PDT), Taufik Madjid, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ampowr Co-CEO, Eric van Honk.