Government Federal Council does not want to provide any money for a possible national exhibition
A possible national exhibition in the 2030s will not receive any money from the federal government. The Federal Council justified its decision with the strong pressure on federal finances.
25.06.2025, 13:44
25.06.2025, 14:31
SDA
Financing a national exhibition would contradict the need to consolidate federal finances on the expenditure side, as the Federal Council announced on Wednesday. The last national exhibition, Expo.02, cost the Confederation one billion francs.
The budget is to be relieved from 2027. There is also the threat of numerous additional burdens. For this reason, the Confederation is expected to cut back on the fulfillment of its tasks in the coming years.
Several groups have expressed their interest in organizing a national exhibition in recent years. For example, "Nexpo" and "X27", which joined forces in May and are planning a decentralized exhibition.
They are joined by the cantons of Aargau, Solothurn, Jura and the two Basel cantons with the "Svizra27" project for an Expo in north-western Switzerland. Several mountain cantons also want to organize a "Muntagna".
New law in the works
At the same time as this decision, the Federal Council opened the consultation process for a new Federal Act on the Promotion of National Exhibitions (LaFG), as it also announced. The new law lays down the legal framework for any federal funding of national exhibitions.
According to the communiqué, a project sponsor should generally be dependent on public funding for the planning and implementation of a national exhibition. The new law regulates the examination and selection of project applications as well as possible federal funding.
The consultation period will last until October 16, 2025.
