Switzerland – Exposition Suisse Lausanne 1964 (Expo ’64) 1964 Silver Medal 33mm (14.99 grams) 0.900 Silver Engraver: Argor EXPOSITION NATIONALE SUISSE LAUSANNE 1964 ARGOR 900/1000, Expo ’64 logo above text. Stylized Swiss Cross, rectangular panels to left and right.
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The Swiss national exposition of 1964 (French: Exposition nationale suisse de 1964), usually shortened to Expo 64, was a world’s fair held in Lausanne, more specifically in Vidy and the neighbouring Vallée de la Jeunesse, between 30 April and 25 October 1964.
Expo 64 was directed by Gabriel Despland, with Alberto Camenzind as chief architect, Edmond Henri as administrative director, and Paul Ruckstuhl as financial director. The syndic of Lausanne, Georges-André Chevallaz, was also part of the direction committee.
Sectors
Expo 64 was divided into eight sectors:
- La Voie Suisse (“the Swiss way”): main sector of Expo 64, devoted to the History, political system, cultural values and future perspectives of Switzerland
- L’art de vivre (“art of life”): devoted to the resources of the 1960s, such as the environment, the way of life and spiritual aspirations.
- Communications et transports (“Communications and transports”): Communications, transports and their consequences on territorial equipment.
- Industrie et artisanat (“Industry and craft”): innovations from 1945.
- Les échanges (“import and export”): indigenous production was emphasised against importations.
- Terre et la forêt (“Earth and forest”): a variety of trees and several typical farms were put on display, along with activities such as milk or wine production.
- Le port (harbour): the leisure centre of the exposition, with restaurants, coffee shops, shops, dance clubs and various attractions.
- La Suisse vigilante (“Vigilant Switzerland”): promoting the Swiss Army.
Attractions
The main attractions of the exposition were:
- The symphonie des échanges (“Symphony of exchanges”): a symphony played on machines
- A monorail.
- The Mésoscaphe Auguste Piccard (PX-8), and tourism submarine.
- The “Spiral” tower
- Un jour en Suisse (“A day in Switzerland”), a sociological study
- La Suisse s’interroge (“Switzerland ponders”), five 3-minute films by Henry Brandt
The results of the sociological study Un jour en Suisse were subject to censorship, both with the selection of question (questions such as “can one be a good Swiss while being a conscious objector”, “not believe in God”, “support the right to abortion” were suppressed) and later when the answers were processed and suggested results that the Federal Council found embarrassing. 580,000 people, out of 12 million visitors, answered the study.
Remains of Expo 64
Some of the attractions of Expo 64 still exist and can be seen on the lakeside:
- The théâtre Vidy-Lausanne
- The Esplanade des trois Suisse
- A concrete building in the Vallée de la Jeunesse and a playground
- The voile d’or
- A miniature railway in Vidy
Furthermore, the A1 motorway between Lausanne and Geneva, built for Expo 64, is still in operation, along with the Maladière roundabout at the end of the A1. An aerial tramway in Les Diablerets connecting the Scex Rouge, at nearly 3,000 metres, was also inaugurated in occasion of the exhibition.
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities, the so-called Bundesstadt (“federal city”). The country is situated in Western and Central Europe, where it is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Zürich and Geneva.
The establishment of the Swiss Confederation is traditionally dated to 1 August 1291, which is celebrated annually as Swiss National Day. It has a long history of armed neutrality-it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815-and did not join the United Nations until 2002. It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. Switzerland is also the birthplace of the Red Cross and home to numerous international organizations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association and is part of the Schengen Area – although it is notably not a member of the European Union, nor the European Economic Area. Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and the Romansh-speaking valleys. Therefore, the Swiss, although predominantly German-speaking, do not form a nation in the sense of a common ethnic or linguistic identity; rather, the strong sense of identity and community is founded on a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy, and Alpine symbolism.
Switzerland has the highest nominal wealth per adult (financial and non-financial assets) in the world according to Credit Suisse and eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product on the IMF list. However, Switzerland is also the most expensive country in the world to live in, as measured by the price level index.
Swiss citizens have the second-highest life expectancy in the world on the UN DESA list. Switzerland is tied with the Netherlands for the top rank on the Bribe Payers Index indicating very low levels of business corruption. Moreover, for the last five years the country has been ranked first in economic and tourist competitiveness according to the Global Competitiveness Report and the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report respectively, both developed by the World Economic Forum. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities with the highest quality of life in the world, with the former coming second globally according to Mercer. However, Mercer also rates those two cities as the fifth- and sixth- most expensive cities in the world to live in.
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