Record-breaking heat prompted yodelers at Switzerland's national festival in Basel to seek refuge and practice in city fountains over the weekend. The Eidgenössisches Jodlerfest, which brought approximately 12,000 performers and nearly 200,000 visitors to Basel, took place amidst Europe's June heat wave, with temperatures reaching around 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit).
Fountains became a defining image of the festival, with some folk bands practicing while dipping their feet into the water on Saturday. Festivalgoers offered applause and cooled themselves in the streams. The tradition of Swiss yodeling was recently added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2025, marking this as the first national festival to occur since the tradition received international recognition. This distinction is a source of significant pride for many Swiss citizens.
Unlike the more melodious style often associated with Austria and Tyrol, Swiss yodeling is characterized by a slower, more melancholic tone, reflecting distinct regional dialects and an emotionally nuanced tradition. Participants competed in disciplines including yodeling, alphorn playing, and flag-throwing.
The alphorn, a long wooden instrument traditionally used by Alpine herdsmen, can exceed 3 meters (10 feet) in length. Its sound is capable of carrying across valleys, and during the festival, it resonated through Basel's streets. The instrument produces pitches solely through natural harmonics, without valves or keys, relying on the player's lip control to shape the sound. "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, an alphorn player rehearsing on a school lawn.
Competitors eagerly awaited results on Sunday morning outside the town hall. Members of Jodlerklub Balfrin from Visp were among those celebrating after receiving a perfect score. During the festival's closing parade, members of Jodlerklub Muttenz rode past on a tractor to cheers, followed by alphorn players whose traditional attire and instruments were a challenge in the heat, yet smiles persisted.