End your summer with a dance party in Switzerland at the Zürich Street Parade.
This free electronic music festival is the largest of its kind and one of the biggest parties in Zürich. Each year, this experience takes techno to the streets, sending colorful buses playing live music around Lake Zürich.
It’s a European summer festival like no other, so pack a comfortable pair of shoes, loosen up those hips, and get ready to dance until midnight at the Zürich Street Parade Festival.
Image Credit: Julian Quirchmair, Zürich Street Parade.
When is Zürich Street Parade?
The annual Zürich Street Parade takes place every year by Lake Zurich and will be held on August 10, 2024.
What time is Zürich Street Parade?
The Zürich Street Parade begins at 1pm and ends at midnight. After the street parade, Zürich's trendiest nightclubs will have after-parties so you can dance the night away. Nighttime S-Bahn trains, night buses, and trams run until 4am, allowing you to party carefree until the early hours of the morning.
Where is Zürich Street Parade?
The name says it all: The Zürich Street Parade is a mobile event that takes place throughout the streets of Zürich. Last year’s route was 1.2 miles (2km) long, beginning in Utoquai in the Seefeld district and running around Lake Zürich through Bellevue, Quaibrücke, and Bürkliplatz, before ending at Hafendamm Enge. Don’t feel like you need to speed through the route to keep up with the Love Mobiles; each of the stages along the route rock until midnight.
What is the Zürich Street Parade?
The Zürich Street Parade is an outdoor music festival that takes place annually throughout the streets of Zürich. One thing that makes the Zürich Street Parade so special is that its musicians move with the crowd. For instance, in 2023, the festival had 8 stationary stages along the route and 30 moving stages called Love Mobiles that glided along the parade route.
The first Zürich Street Parade in 1992 was inspired by the Berlin Love Parade as a public demonstration to support peace, love, freedom, tolerance, and generosity through music. It’s taken place every year since, with the exception of pandemic cancellations in 2020 and 2021.
Image Credit: Julian Quirchmair, Zürich Street Fair. Image Location: Zürich, Switzerland.
What happens at the Zürich Street Parade?
A whole lot of dancing, that’s for sure. With DJ sets starting at lunch and pumping the airwaves until it’s time for a midnight snack, you can be sure that the streets are alive with the sound of synth music. Some festival goers follow the Love Mobiles while others hop between stages. The city is the venue, so you’ll find people dancing in and out of the parade route, hitting up restaurants for food and clubs to keep the party going indoors.
Is Zürich Street Parade the biggest in the world?
The Zürich Switzerland Street Parade Festival is the biggest techno and electronic music festival on the planet. 1,000 people joined the first parade in 1992. In 2023, an insane crowd of 920,000 partied in the streets—the largest turnout since 2018’s festival.
Is Zürich Street Parade free?
Yes, the Zürich Street Parade Festival is free to attend. Street Parade is a non-profit association that hosts the festival each year. However, you do have the opportunity to support this annual event by purchasing a voluntary ticket, aka, donating directly to the event.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Didier Marti. Image Location: Zürich, Switzerland.
How to get to Zürich Street Parade by train
The Zürich Street Parade Festival boogies around Lake Zürich’s north shore which is served by commuter trains, trams, and buses at the Stadelhofen train station. From Zürich HB on foot, the main train station for the city, head south through the historic district and you’ll reach the lakefront.
Getting to Zürich HB is just as easy. Direct trains are available from:
- Munich Hbf: ~3.5 hours
- Frankfurt (Main) Hbf: ~4 hours
- Paris Gare de Lyon: ~4 hours
- Milano Centrale: ~4 hours
- Berlin Hbf: ~8 hours or ~12 via sleeper train
Landing at Zürich Airport? Take the train from Zurich Flughafen to the city center at Zurich HB or Zurich Stadelhofen in 15 minutes. Download the Trainline app and purchase your rail tickets to the Zurich Street Parade today.
Header Image Credit: Joe Pohl, Zürich Street Parade. Image Location, Zürich, Switzerland.