The event was announced as an attempt to organize on Saturday in Basel “the largest disco of all time for those over 60”. In the absence of a world record, the gathering above all enabled the many visitors to have fun.
For Peter Burri Follath, spokesperson for Pro Senectute, the attempt to establish a world record was only secondary. According to the motto “United by Music”, the event organized in Basest upstream from the Eurovision of the song (ESC) competition was intended to bring together elderly people to facilitate social contacts and do a little exercise while having fun. To allow as many seniors as possible to participate in the party, the entry price was set at 9 francs.
“It has been two or three years since we started to make disco and we realized that there were a lot of seniors who participated there,” said the director of Pro Senectute Switzerland Alain Huber in the 19:30 of the RTS. “And of course, the Eurovision song competition, many of us, seniors, we have known him for years”
Deaf disco
More than 1,400 tickets were sold in a very short time, the organizers said. Long before the start at 2:00 p.m., a long queue had already formed in front of the entrance to the Basel fair. The organizers then opened the doors earlier than expected.
“I am here because I like to dance and I love Eurovision,” says one of the participants. “I am here because it is for the 60 and more and it is the music of my youth,” explains another.
The disco for seniors was to close at 6:00 p.m. In the evening, a disco for the deaf was on the program in Basel, under the sign of the inclusion that the host city of the ESC has set itself as a goal. On the motto “Feel the Beat”, a space was created in which music is lived in a multisensory way by sound, light, videos and a vibrant dance floor.
ats/edel
