Illumination of the Matterhorn as a sign of hope

24/03/2020

On behalf of Zermatt, the light artist Gerry Hofstetter will illuminate the Matterhorn daily from Tuesday, 24 March 2020 - as a sign of hope and solidarity.

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The Matterhorn has always been a symbol of Switzerland and a place of strength and stability. Zermatt is convinced: as strong as the Matterhorn, so strong must the society stand together, be anchored and let the storm pass. Regarding this symbol, the mountain will be illuminated daily from Tuesday, 24th March 2020 - weather conditions permitting.

Hope, solidarity and gratitude
With the illumination, Zermatt wants to give people a sign of hope and solidarity in this difficult time of the Coronavirus pandemic. Just like the motto "Light is hope". The village shows solidarity with all people who are currently suffering and is grateful to all those who are helping to overcome the crisis. This includes the medical staff, all those who ensure the logistics and the supply of the population as well as all those who stay at home out of consideration and adapt their daily routine and tasks to the circumstances.

Gerry Hofstetter
Gerry Hofstetter was quickly and easily won for the project. Since 1999 the light artist has been transforming buildings, monuments, landscapes and mountains all over the world into temporary art objects.

From home
The federal recommendations are clear: "Stay at home." From home, all interested parties will follow the projections. The webcams around the Matterhorn transmit live images in high quality under zermatt.ch/hope. Thanks to the high light sensitivity of the cameras, the projections are much better visible on images than by the naked eye.