One of the first countries to confirm (December 2024), Switzerland plans to show its lesser-known playful side — from Schwingen and alphorns to Zurich's Street Parade and a heart-rate-driven video game.
| Framing | Resilience of body, mind and logic in a technology-led world [source] |
|---|---|
| Status | Confirmed 12 Dec 2024 — among the first participants [source] |
| Showcase | Alphorn, yodeling, Street Parade, Schwingen, Hornussen, Steinstossen [source] |
| Innovation | "Plunder Planet" — heart-rate-adaptive game by Zurich University of the Arts [source] |
| Design | Walk-through artistic mountain panorama — engineering by Werner Sobek AG with Danilo Dangubic Architects and VOGT Landscape; run by Presence Switzerland (FDFA) [source] |
| Size / budget | Not disclosed |
Switzerland was among the very first confirmations, in December 2024. The Swiss foreign ministry frames its Expo participation around a question: how to prepare the human body, mind and logic for a technology-led world full of insecurities, and make humans more resilient for the coming decades.
Per the Expo organizer's participant page, the Swiss presentation will showcase culture, sport and music beyond the clichés: the Alphorn and yodeling, accordion-accompanied dances and Alpine bells, Zurich's Street Parade electronic-music event, and the traditional sports Schwingen (sawdust wrestling), Hornussen, and Steinstossen — stone throwing with stones up to 83.5 kg.
On the innovation side, the organizer highlights "Plunder Planet", a mobile game developed by the Zurich University of the Arts that adjusts its difficulty to the player's heart rate — a literal implementation of the Expo's play-meets-technology theme. The pavilion itself is designed as a walk-through artistic mountain panorama, engineered by Werner Sobek AG with Belgrade's Danilo Dangubic Architects and Swiss landscape firm VOGT, and run — as with every Swiss World Expo appearance — by Presence Switzerland at the foreign ministry. The budget has not been announced.
“Switzerland is not just chocolate, watches, and the Alps – it is a country of innovation, culture, and sports, where tradition and the future come together.” — Expo 2027 Belgrade organizer, Switzerland participant page [source]
National pavilions sit in the International Participant Area of the 25-hectare Expo site at Surčin, in the western part of Belgrade — the zone that becomes the city's new Belgrade Fair after the event. The site is about 5 km from Nikola Tesla Airport and roughly 13.5 km southwest of central Belgrade (official planning figures), so if you fly in, you land closer to the Expo grounds than to town. Exact positions within the zones haven't been published yet; we'll add the location when the site plan lands.
The lesser-known playful side of the country: the Alphorn and yodeling, accordion-accompanied dances and Alpine bells, Zurich's Street Parade electronic-music event, and the traditional sports Schwingen (sawdust wrestling), Hornussen, and Steinstossen — stone throwing with stones up to 83.5 kg.
A mobile game developed by the Zurich University of the Arts that adjusts its difficulty to the player's heart rate — highlighted by the Expo organizer as an example of Swiss innovation to be presented, and a literal take on the Expo's play-meets-technology theme.
On 12 December 2024 — among the very first countries to confirm. Pavilion design and budget have not been announced yet.
More on the Expo: participant tracker · all pavilion profiles · who's coming to Expo 2027 · the full Expo 2027 guide