.
Swiss Ambassador Martin Dahinden and his wife Anita Dahinden certainly did not disappoint their guests in attendance at the Soirée Suisse on the evening of Wednesday, September 14th. Opening their home to well over 1000 guests, the couple and the Embassy of Switzerland amazed the crowd with an abundance of all things elegantly Swiss, from fine alpine wines and chocolates to freshly fired raclette and sausages. The Ambassador himself even featured a cocktail of his own creation (the Gotthard Cocktail), poured by an exclusive D.C. mixologist and lined up atop a bar counter sculpted entirely from ice.
Special guests in attendance included several Members of Congress (Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. John Barrasso, Sen. Roger Wicker, Rep. Ed Royce, Rep. Richard Neal, Rep. Rick Larsen, Rep. Kenny Marchant (a.o.), and former Sen. Bob Dole.), ambassadors from Switzerland’s neighbors (Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, and Iceland), Mr. François Stamm (Head of the Regional Delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross), Mr. Eric Spiegel (President and CEO of Siemens Corporation), Mr. James Townsend, Jr. (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy), and many of the Ambassador and his wife’s close friends.
Upon arrival, the sounds of alphorns welcomed guests through a red-lit tunnel, representing the newly completed Gotthard Base Tunnel, which was to be honored that night for being the longest and deepest rail tunnel in the world. While exploring the tunnel guests had the opportunity to stop at the featured timeline depicting the engineering process, years of innovation, ecological consciousness, and rehabilitation efforts in the area that led to the feat of Gotthard.
Also presented at the event were samples of Switzerland’s contribution to technological advancement, including virtual reality eyewear created in partnership with Google. The eyewear offered its users the opportunity to view the Gotthard tunnel and surrounding area from above the Swiss Alps. Those who wore the goggles could “fly” by hot air balloon from one point in the sky to another. With a turn of the head and a click of a button, one could take in a different perspective of the area and learn about the various features built into the cold, mountainous terrain.
Crowd favorites of the night were the games and entertainment offered inside the building. Guests lined up for the photo booth that transported them to snowy peaks via green screen. Others fiercely contested for a chance to win the grand prize (a trip to Switzerland for two!) by racing a toy model of a Gotthard passenger train around the track in 18 seconds (in honor of the actual train’s time of 18 minutes to pass through the tunnel). Smaller prizes included Swatch watches, Swiss Army Knives, Swiss branded beach bags, and Victorinox RFID protected passport holders
The highlight of the evening was witnessing Ambassador Dahinden grant the annual Tell Award.
This distinction is granted to companies and organizations that have achieved great success by rooting large projects in Switzerland. This year’s winner and the evening’s guest of honor, Dr. Renzo Simoni, Chief Executive Officer of AlpTransit Gotthard AG accepted the award with much fanfare from the audience, a proud moment for many Swiss in attendance.
Photos by the Swiss Embassy and Bailey Piazza.
Special guests in attendance included several Members of Congress (Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. John Barrasso, Sen. Roger Wicker, Rep. Ed Royce, Rep. Richard Neal, Rep. Rick Larsen, Rep. Kenny Marchant (a.o.), and former Sen. Bob Dole.), ambassadors from Switzerland’s neighbors (Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, and Iceland), Mr. François Stamm (Head of the Regional Delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross), Mr. Eric Spiegel (President and CEO of Siemens Corporation), Mr. James Townsend, Jr. (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy), and many of the Ambassador and his wife’s close friends.
Upon arrival, the sounds of alphorns welcomed guests through a red-lit tunnel, representing the newly completed Gotthard Base Tunnel, which was to be honored that night for being the longest and deepest rail tunnel in the world. While exploring the tunnel guests had the opportunity to stop at the featured timeline depicting the engineering process, years of innovation, ecological consciousness, and rehabilitation efforts in the area that led to the feat of Gotthard.
Also presented at the event were samples of Switzerland’s contribution to technological advancement, including virtual reality eyewear created in partnership with Google. The eyewear offered its users the opportunity to view the Gotthard tunnel and surrounding area from above the Swiss Alps. Those who wore the goggles could “fly” by hot air balloon from one point in the sky to another. With a turn of the head and a click of a button, one could take in a different perspective of the area and learn about the various features built into the cold, mountainous terrain.
Crowd favorites of the night were the games and entertainment offered inside the building. Guests lined up for the photo booth that transported them to snowy peaks via green screen. Others fiercely contested for a chance to win the grand prize (a trip to Switzerland for two!) by racing a toy model of a Gotthard passenger train around the track in 18 seconds (in honor of the actual train’s time of 18 minutes to pass through the tunnel). Smaller prizes included Swatch watches, Swiss Army Knives, Swiss branded beach bags, and Victorinox RFID protected passport holders
The highlight of the evening was witnessing Ambassador Dahinden grant the annual Tell Award.
This distinction is granted to companies and organizations that have achieved great success by rooting large projects in Switzerland. This year’s winner and the evening’s guest of honor, Dr. Renzo Simoni, Chief Executive Officer of AlpTransit Gotthard AG accepted the award with much fanfare from the audience, a proud moment for many Swiss in attendance.
Photos by the Swiss Embassy and Bailey Piazza.The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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The 15th Annual Soirée Suisse
||||Joy Asico (www.asicophoto.com)
September 21, 2016
Swiss Ambassador Martin Dahinden and his wife Anita Dahinden certainly did not disappoint their guests in attendance at the Soirée Suisse on the evening of Wednesday, September 14th. Opening their home to well over 1000 guests, the couple and the Embassy of Switzerland amazed the crowd with an abundance of all things elegantly Swiss, from fine alpine wines and chocolates to freshly fired raclette and sausages. The Ambassador himself even featured a cocktail of his own creation (the Gotthard Cocktail), poured by an exclusive D.C. mixologist and lined up atop a bar counter sculpted entirely from ice.
Special guests in attendance included several Members of Congress (Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. John Barrasso, Sen. Roger Wicker, Rep. Ed Royce, Rep. Richard Neal, Rep. Rick Larsen, Rep. Kenny Marchant (a.o.), and former Sen. Bob Dole.), ambassadors from Switzerland’s neighbors (Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, and Iceland), Mr. François Stamm (Head of the Regional Delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross), Mr. Eric Spiegel (President and CEO of Siemens Corporation), Mr. James Townsend, Jr. (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy), and many of the Ambassador and his wife’s close friends.
Upon arrival, the sounds of alphorns welcomed guests through a red-lit tunnel, representing the newly completed Gotthard Base Tunnel, which was to be honored that night for being the longest and deepest rail tunnel in the world. While exploring the tunnel guests had the opportunity to stop at the featured timeline depicting the engineering process, years of innovation, ecological consciousness, and rehabilitation efforts in the area that led to the feat of Gotthard.
Also presented at the event were samples of Switzerland’s contribution to technological advancement, including virtual reality eyewear created in partnership with Google. The eyewear offered its users the opportunity to view the Gotthard tunnel and surrounding area from above the Swiss Alps. Those who wore the goggles could “fly” by hot air balloon from one point in the sky to another. With a turn of the head and a click of a button, one could take in a different perspective of the area and learn about the various features built into the cold, mountainous terrain.
Crowd favorites of the night were the games and entertainment offered inside the building. Guests lined up for the photo booth that transported them to snowy peaks via green screen. Others fiercely contested for a chance to win the grand prize (a trip to Switzerland for two!) by racing a toy model of a Gotthard passenger train around the track in 18 seconds (in honor of the actual train’s time of 18 minutes to pass through the tunnel). Smaller prizes included Swatch watches, Swiss Army Knives, Swiss branded beach bags, and Victorinox RFID protected passport holders
The highlight of the evening was witnessing Ambassador Dahinden grant the annual Tell Award.
This distinction is granted to companies and organizations that have achieved great success by rooting large projects in Switzerland. This year’s winner and the evening’s guest of honor, Dr. Renzo Simoni, Chief Executive Officer of AlpTransit Gotthard AG accepted the award with much fanfare from the audience, a proud moment for many Swiss in attendance.
Photos by the Swiss Embassy and Bailey Piazza.
Special guests in attendance included several Members of Congress (Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. John Barrasso, Sen. Roger Wicker, Rep. Ed Royce, Rep. Richard Neal, Rep. Rick Larsen, Rep. Kenny Marchant (a.o.), and former Sen. Bob Dole.), ambassadors from Switzerland’s neighbors (Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, and Iceland), Mr. François Stamm (Head of the Regional Delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross), Mr. Eric Spiegel (President and CEO of Siemens Corporation), Mr. James Townsend, Jr. (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy), and many of the Ambassador and his wife’s close friends.
Upon arrival, the sounds of alphorns welcomed guests through a red-lit tunnel, representing the newly completed Gotthard Base Tunnel, which was to be honored that night for being the longest and deepest rail tunnel in the world. While exploring the tunnel guests had the opportunity to stop at the featured timeline depicting the engineering process, years of innovation, ecological consciousness, and rehabilitation efforts in the area that led to the feat of Gotthard.
Also presented at the event were samples of Switzerland’s contribution to technological advancement, including virtual reality eyewear created in partnership with Google. The eyewear offered its users the opportunity to view the Gotthard tunnel and surrounding area from above the Swiss Alps. Those who wore the goggles could “fly” by hot air balloon from one point in the sky to another. With a turn of the head and a click of a button, one could take in a different perspective of the area and learn about the various features built into the cold, mountainous terrain.
Crowd favorites of the night were the games and entertainment offered inside the building. Guests lined up for the photo booth that transported them to snowy peaks via green screen. Others fiercely contested for a chance to win the grand prize (a trip to Switzerland for two!) by racing a toy model of a Gotthard passenger train around the track in 18 seconds (in honor of the actual train’s time of 18 minutes to pass through the tunnel). Smaller prizes included Swatch watches, Swiss Army Knives, Swiss branded beach bags, and Victorinox RFID protected passport holders
The highlight of the evening was witnessing Ambassador Dahinden grant the annual Tell Award.
This distinction is granted to companies and organizations that have achieved great success by rooting large projects in Switzerland. This year’s winner and the evening’s guest of honor, Dr. Renzo Simoni, Chief Executive Officer of AlpTransit Gotthard AG accepted the award with much fanfare from the audience, a proud moment for many Swiss in attendance.
Photos by the Swiss Embassy and Bailey Piazza.The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
