The Basel carnival began with a whistle and drum concert on Monday morning at 4 a.m. The festival, which, as always, is celebrated a week after Shrove Monday, is considered the most important Protestant carnival in the world.
By Wednesday morning, around 20,000 active members of the carnival cliques were out and about in the city. Around 200,000 visitors are expected in the Swiss city every year. The motto of the 2024 carnival is “outlaw”.