Welcome to the 55th edition of the Forum Song Contest (FSC) which takes place in Switzerland:
We are here as a result of Switzerland’s great victory in FSC August 2013 with Anna Rossinelli’s “Let It Go”.
Congratulations once again!
The Host city for this FSC-edition is : Lucerne , or Luzern (Lozärn in local dialect), a
city in north-central Switzerland in the German-speaking portion of the country.Lucerne
is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne, and the capital of the district of the same name.
With a population of around 76,000 people Lucerne is the most populous city in Central
Switzerland, 7 th largest in Switzerland, a nexus of transportation , telecommunications
& government of this region. The city's urban area consists of 17 cities & towns located
in three different cantons with an overall population of about 250,000 people Due to its
location on the shore of 'Lake Lucerne' ( der Vierwaldstättersee ) within sight, of Mount
Pilatus (a mountain overlooking the city, it is composed of several summits of which the
highest (2,128 m) is named ‘Tomlishorn’; another summit, named ‘Esel’ (2,119 m) , lies
just over the railway station) and Mt. Rigi (another majestic mountain) in the Swiss Alps
Lucerne has long been a very popular destination for tourists, and visitors from all over.
The history of Lucerne goes back to the preMiddle Ages. The area become known as Luc-
iaria. In 1178 Lucerne acquired its independence from the jurisdiction of 'Murbach Abbey'
(a Benedictine Monastery in the Alsace region), and the founding of the city proper prob-
ably occurred the same year . The city got importance, as a strategically located gateway
for the growing commerce from the 'Gotthard trade route'. In 1332, in a protest against
increasing 'Habsburg' influence in the region Lucerne and the three other forest cantons
of Uri , Schwyz and Unterwalden formed the "eternal" 'Swiss Confederacy' known as the
Eidgenossenschaft.Later the cities of Zürich, Zug and Bern joined the alliance.A Catholic
city through the Protestant Reformation in the late Middle Ages Lucerne was a center of
power & prominence , until the 'Protestant wave' washed over the country around 1700
(cf the second Villmerg War) and the city lost its prominent position in the Confederacy.
In 1798 , nine years after the start of the 'French Revolution' the French army marched
into Switzerland. The old Confederacy collapsed, & the government became democratic.
The industrial revolution hit Lucerne rather late , & by 1860 only 1.7% of the population
worked in industry which was about a quarter of the national average at that time. Agri
culture which employed about 40% of the workers, was the main form of economic out
put in the canton. Nevertheless , industry was attracted to the city, from areas around
Lucerne. From 1850-1913 the population quadrupled and the flow of settlers increased
In 1856, trains first linked the city to Olten and Basel, then to Zug and Zürich in 1864.
The city of Lucerne has a number of bridges . The most famous one, is the 'Chapel Bridge'
('Kapellbrücke') , a 204 m long wooden covered bridge, originally built in 1333 , the oldest
covered bridge in Europe . Partway across the bridge runs by the octagonal Water Tower
('Wasserturm') , a fortification from the 13th Century . Inside the bridge , are a series, of
paintings from the 17th Century depicting events from Lucernes history . The Bridge with
with its Tower is the city's most famous landmark . Downriver between the Kasernenplatz
and the Mühlenplatz the Spreuerbrücke , known as ’Mill Bridge’, zigzags across the Reuss
Constructed in 1408, it features a series of medieval-style 17th Century plague paintings
by Kaspar Meglinger , titled ‘Dance of Death’. The bridge has a small chapel in the middle
that was added in 1568. Old Town Lucerne is located just north of the Reuss River , and
still has several fine halftimber structures with painted fronts . Remnants of the old town
walls exist on the hill above Lucerne complete with eight tall watch towers . An additional
gated tower sits at the base of the hill situated by the shining banks of the Reuss River.
The twin needle towers of the ’Church of St. Leodegar’ , which was named after the city's
patron saint sit on a small hill just above the lake front. Originally built in 735 the present
structure was erected in 1633 in the late Renaissance style. However the towers are surv
iving remnants of an earlier structure. The interior is richly decorated. The church is popu
lularly called the ’Hofkirche’ (German) & known locally as the ‘Hofchele’ (in Swiss-German)
Bertel Thorvaldsen's ( a Danish sculptor of international fame ) famous carving of a dying
lion (the ‘Lion Monument’ [1819], or Löwendenkmal) is found, in a small park just off the
Lowenplatz. The carving commemorates the hundreds of Swiss Guards, who were massa
cred in 1792 during the French Revolution , when the mob stormed the Tuileries Palace in
Paris. ‘The Swiss Museum of Transport’ is a large and comprehensive museum, e
biting all forms of transport , includinglocomotives , automobiles, ships , and aircraft. It is to be
found beside the lake in the northern section of the city. Another very famous building in
Lucerne is the great Catholic Jesuitenkirche (the ‘Jesuit Church’) , the first large baroque
church built in Switzerland north of the alps. Lucernealso houses a variety of museums &
art-galleries, including the 'Richard Wagner Museum' , residence of the famous composer
from 1866 to 1872 which gives the visitor an overview of his principal work/compositions
Luzerner Fasnacht
Every year, towards the end of winter, the local Carnival (the ‘Luzerner Fasnacht’) trans-
forms the city into a place of ‘ wild fun ’. It is , affectionately nicknamed 'the fifth season'
a 'time out of time', in which the usual Swiss standards of order, are replaced by sodden
confetti and colourful parades in the streets , alleyways , and, squares of the old town in
Lucerne . The events preserve tradition - from the 15th Century , based on the religious
customs of the days before Lent. This is truly a glittering outdoor party , where chaos &
merriness reign, and nothing is as it normally is. Strange characters in fantastic masks &
costumes make their way through the alleyways, while carnival brass bands (Guggenmus
igen) blow their instruments and hit their drums in a joyful cacophony and thousands of
often bizarrely clad colourful & extremely festive people , sing and dance the winter away
Since plans for a new culture and convention center arose in the late 1980s , Lucerne has
found a balance , between the so-called established culture and alternative culture. A con
sensus was reached, that culminated in a ‘culture compromise’ ('Kulturkompromiss'). The
established culture comprises the ‘Culture and Congress Centre’ (KKL) , the ‘city theater’
(Luzerner Theater) and, in a broader sense , smaller establishments such as the ‘Kleinth-
eater ’, founded by the comedian, Emil Steinberger, a Lucerne native, and ‘Stadtkeller’, a
music restaurant in the city's Old Town. KKL also houses, the ‘-Museum of Art Lucerne-’
(Kunstmuseum Luzern) . Alternative culture (initially plays , but later often also concerts)
took place mostly on the premises of a former tube factory, which became known as Boa
Other localities for alternative culture , have since emerged , in that same inner city area .
Beside the aforementioned 'Luzerner Fasnacht, the city hosts various renowned festivals
throughout the year .'The Lucerne Festival for classical music' takes place in the summer
Its orchestra, the ‘ Lucerne Festival Orchestra ’, is hand-picked, from some of the finest
instrumentalists in the world. In June yearly the popmusic festival B-Sides takes place in
Lucerne. In July , the ‘Blue Balls Festival’ brings jazz , blues, and punk music to the lake
promenade , and halls of the Culture and Convention Center. The Lucerne Blues Festival
is another musical festival which usually takes place in November. Since spring of 2004 ,
Lucerne has hosted the ‘Festival Rose d'Or’ for television entertainment And in April the
well-established comics festival , ‘Fumetto’ attracts an international audience. Being the
cultural center of a rural region, Lucerne regularly holds different 'folklore festivals' , like
'Lucerne Cheese Festival' held yearly. In 2004 Lucerne was the focus of Swiss Wrestling
fans when it hosted the ‘Swiss Wrestling and Alpine festival’ (Eidgenössisches Schwing-
und Älplerfest), which takes place every 3 years in a different location . A national music
festival (Eidgenössiches Musikfest) attracted bands from all parts of Switzerland in2006
In summer 2008, the jodelling festival (Eidgenössisches Jodlerfest) had a similar impact.
Lucerne is also a city of sports . There are several football clubs throughout the city . The
most successful one is : 'FC Luzern' , which plays, in Switzerland's premier league ( Swiss
Super League ) . The club plays its home matches at the new Swissporarena , with a cap-
acity of 16,800. In the past , Lucerne also produced national successes in men's handball
and women's volleyball and softball. Having a long tradition of equestrian sports, Lucerne
has co-hosted CSIO Switzerland, an international equestrian show jumping event, until it
left entirely for St. Gallen in 2006. Since then, the Lucerne Equestrian Masters replaced it
There is also an annual horse racing event, usually taking place in August. Lucerne yearly
hosts the final leg of the 'Rowing World Cup' on Rotsee Lake, and has hosted numerous
World Rowing Championships, among others the first ever in 1962. Lucerne, hosts , the
annual 'Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern Track and field meeting' , which attracts world class
athletes. The Lucerne Eagles are the baseball and softball team of Lucerne . The city also
provides facilities for ice-hockey, basketball, figureskating, swimming, climbing and more.
The Host venue for FSC September 2013, is - the KKL Lucerne Concert Hall
, a part of the famous Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre . The Concert Hall hosted its
first public performance. with the opening of the 1998 Lucerne International MusicFestival
Situated on the picturesque Vierwaldstättersee shore the facility is also known by the ac-
ronym of its German name, KKL (Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern) . It also contains
a flexible performance and banquet space, the Lucerne Hall, as well as museum and e
bition space, meeting rooms, restaurants, and a rehearsal hall. It is home of the renowned
Lucerne Music Festival , a fiveweek classical musicfestival which draws many of the world's
finest orchestras & soloists each summer . The Concert Hall's 1840 seats, are distributed
among its main floor and four balconies, thereby keeping the scale of the room visually, &
orally intimate. The hall accommodates symphonic, choral, jazz, folk and popular music in
addition to plenary conferencesessions To accommodate a wide variety of events the con
cert hall features a 7000 m3 acoustics control chamber around the perimeter of the hall .
This is used in conjunction with heavy, sound-absorbing curtains that can be deployed in
front of each wall surface to reduce the natural liveness of the hall for amplified events &
a two-piece vertically moving acoustical canopy above the performance platform, in order
to adjust the room's acoustical environment , to suit the complete sound performance .
Our lovely Hosts this evening are: Marco Rima and Tina Turner .
Marco Rima (born 1961 in Winterthur. , Canton of Zürich) is a Swiss actor, cabaret-artst
and comedian. He received his first award in 1990 (gold record for ‘Cabaret Marco Cello’ ,
together with Marcello Weber). From 1996-1999, he was a member of the ”Wochenshow
Team” on T which gained him fame in Germany. In particular the characters he portrayed
Grandpa Adolf Frey and Horst Lemminger gained considerable popularity. He received the
Prix Walo award four times: in 1993 as the most popular entertainer in 1994 in the cate-
gory Theatre / Musical in 1999 and 2003 as the most popular entertainer in the category
of ‘cabaret and comedy’.Marco Rima was formerly a primary school teacher but has since
also starred in several movies and television films (among the more famous are 'Achtung
fertig, Charlie!'(2003), 'Handyman' (2006) and 'Liebling , lass' uns scheiden..' (2010). He
has also on many occasions through the years taken part in the 'Arosa Humour Festival'
Tina Turner (born 1939, in Tennessee, USA) is a famous singer, dancer, actress , author
and choreographer , whose big career has spanned more than half a century earning her
widespread recognition & numerous awards . Born and raised, in the United States , she
lives (since many years) in Switzerland , & holds Swiss citizenship as of April 2013 . Tina
Turner moved to St. Louis , Missouri, in the 1950s , and met Ike Turner (whom she later
married) , a musician with whom she began to perform and to record . They had musical
success in the 1960s . She started a successful solo-career in the 1980s with many hits
and countless live performances around the world, and has since been inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Tina has made music for movie soundtracks , and, has also
appeared in many films. In 2008 she embarked on her - ’Tina! 50th Anniversary Tour’ -
It became one of the highestselling ticketed shows of 2008/2009 . She recently married
her longtimepartner German record executive Erwin Bach. They live in Küsnacht, Zürich.
We are also pleased to announce
The Interval Act
the talented , world famous
Swiss electronic music band
Yello
performing one of
their classic songs:
’The Race’
Once again, welcome to the 55th edition of the Forum Song Contest.
Let the show begin!
THE-
7 day Evaluation Period
The Evaluation Period is 7 days from the start of the contest. If you find any songs that you
believe may breach the FSC Rules, please contact the FSC Mods via PM (off the boards).
Voting deadline
26th September, 23:59 CET
Send your votes by PM to: CypriotGirl
Keep in mind that only votes submitted in the Private Forum, or sent to the vote collector,
after the Evaluation Period is finished - and within the voting deadline - will be counted.
Enjoy! - and Good Luck To All Entries!
. Thanks for the great show 
. Sara is just so charming 
1 
