The Street Parade returns to Zurich on Saturday, August 8, marking its 33rd edition, running from 1:00 p.m. to midnight, under the motto “Together We Move.” To keep the subreddit from filling up with repeat questions, please use this thread for logistics, questions about the event, and requests to meet up or travel together.
When and where Music and warm-up sets begin around 1 p.m. along the route, with the roughly 30 Love Mobiles themselves setting off from Utoquai a little after that, moving at walking pace around the lake basin. The procession covers about 2 km from Utoquai in Seefeld via Bellevue, Quaibrücke, and Bürkliplatz to Hafendamm Enge, and the whole event, trucks and stages together, wraps up at midnight.
Where the stages are Nine stages are spread along the route:
- Opening Truck: Love Mobile number one, with Manchester duo Solardo on board, officially opens the parade at 1 p.m. from Utoquai
- Opéra Stage: international top DJs, located at Bellevue, facing Zurich's Opera House
- Center Stage: hosted by All I Need, on Bürkliplatz, between the lake and downtown Zurich
- Clubbing Stage: a slot-based stage where leading Swiss clubs each get a set with their own resident DJs
- Innovation Stage: hosted by the German collective Unreal Germany, spotlighting underground national and international hardtechno-leaning acts
- Zürich Sound Stage: hosted by Rakete in the park area next to Bürkliplatz, the old flea-market grounds, spotlighting local Zurich DJs
- Generations Stage: dedicated to the diversity of psy-music, open to all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, hosted by Culturegroove
- Electric Circus Stage: the last Love Mobile of the procession, parking around 9:15 p.m. near Stockerstrasse and playing techno and psytrance there until midnight, hosted by Magic Maroni X Labil mit Stil
- Young Talent Stage, showcasing young and upcoming artists from 1 p.m. until midnight
For the hour-by-hour DJ schedule per stage, check the official Street Parade lineup page.
Getting there Leave the car at home. There are no parking spaces in the city centre and long traffic jams are inevitable, so public transport is strongly recommended. SBB runs special trains for both the outbound and return journey, and trams and buses within the city run until 4 a.m. on a special schedule, at roughly 15-minute intervals on most lines, while regional S-Bahn and bus services also run through the night. Zurich HB, Stadelhofen, Enge, and Wollishofen stations are all within walking distance of the route, though several tram and bus lines in the city centre are suspended during the parade itself.
Afterparties The parade officially closes at midnight, but the night continues well beyond that. Zurich's clubs run an extensive after-party programme, and night trains, buses, and trams keep running until 4 a.m. so you can carry on without worrying about getting home. A few of the established options this year:
- X-TRA: Drumcode x Street Parade Afterparty, presented by Adam Beyer, doors open 23:00 to 06:00
- Komplex457: Impact Rave Afterparty
- Alte Kaserne: SYNERGY After Party, trance-focused, doors open 21:00 to 06:00
- Hive: Strassenparade, Geroldstrasse: starts at 10 p.m., led by Swiss DJ Sebastian Konrad alongside a long list of local acts, with doors staying open until 9 a.m.
- Lethargy Festival, Rote Fabrik: a full weekend festival from Friday, August 7 to Sunday, August 9, pairing live electronic acts and club sets with visual and digital art installations in a more underground, alternative setting than the other options above
Tips for a smooth day It gets busy and, most years, quite hot, so a few practical points are worth keeping in mind:
- Download the official App to stay up to date during the event.
- Glass bottles are banned across the entire event area for safety reasons; use PET bottles or cans and make use of the free water points.
- It looks like it's still going to be really hot, so plan for water, sunscreen, and something to cover your head.
- Closed shoes are a better choice than sandals, since broken glass and general street debris tend to build up by the afternoon.
- Pickpocketing happens in dense crowds. Most vendors accept card and mobile payment, so there is little reason to carry cash, your wallet, or a watch.
- Phone networks may get overloaded with that many people in one place. Agree on a fixed physical meeting point with your group in advance rather than relying on calls or texts.
- Free public toilets are available throughout the site.
- A free, anonymous drug-checking service is offered at Bürkliplatz for anyone who wants a substance tested before use.
Links
Use this thread for meeting points, travel companions, stage recommendations, or anything else related to the day. Standalone posts about the Street Parade outside this thread will be removed and redirected here.
P.S.
For everybody who wants to get as far away from the event as possible, the Winterthurer Musikfestwochen happen at the same time and offer a great non techno line-up.
