Zurich Elite Caught in Racism Controversy on Blackface Video

Bastian Benrath
·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- High-profile members of Zurich society have become embroiled in a racism controversy after a leaked video showed attendees at a party for a spring festival applauding a character in blackface and jokes about minorities.

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The video, published by local newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, features a stage performance of a man with his face painted black while wearing a bast skirt and holding a stylized bone. The event was one of many held by Zurich’s medieval guilds at the weekend for the annual Sechselaeuten celebration.

While the audience applauds and laughs, another performer introduces a video which includes an actor representing a gay man. The performer says that the “censorship authority” of Zurich had prohibited the video but the audience should “make up their own mind.”

Zurich’s centuries-old guilds have lost their original purpose of representing tradesmen, but are still popular for professional networking.

For Sechselaeuten, they stage a parade in traditional costumes that culminates in a bonfire by the city’s lake. The parade has also attracted controversy because of some of the costumes. Members of Zunft zum Kaembel traditionally paint their faces brown and pose as middle-eastern nomads. Zurich’s social democratic party called last week for an end to “outdated stereotypes” at the festival.

“There have been multiple racial controversies at carnival parades in the past, especially in rural contexts, where public opinion has then almost always sided with tradition,” said Michael Hermann, head of Zurich-based political research institute Sotomo.

“More people in Switzerland are upset about alleged wokeness than about events like this,” he said.

Multiple guild balls are held in the days before the parade. The event in the video had about 140 guests in attendance, many of whom hold prominent positions in businesses and public life, according to Tages-Anzeiger. The organizers declined to comment, the newspaper said.

The Central Committee of Zurich Guilds denied responsibility, saying the ball had taken place outside of its oversight, according to Tages-Anzeiger. The event isn’t listed on the committee’s website.

An opinion piece in the newspaper called the event “tasteless” and said guilds have to reform.

(Updates with political expert in sixth paragraph.)

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