The idea was born in February 2019. Together with our partners from Dive and Travel, we put our heads together and set ourselves the goal of putting together a unique diving fair.
The choice of location was clear relatively quickly. Since the iconic Vidmarhallen are located right next to TSK Bern, this was the perfect opportunity. Partly because the Vidmarhallen house the premises of the Stadttheater Bern, which fitted perfectly into the format of our idea.
Hundreds of enthusiastic festival visitors have now experienced what has become of this idea on the weekend of 25 + 26 January. We are thrilled, almost overwhelmed!
The "Shark Lecture" by Ornella Weideli was fully booked on both days. The Bernese scientist has turned her passion into a profession and has been researching sharks in the Bahamas, Seychelles and French Polynesia for 10 years. The Dive Festival audience seemed to be thrilled by this.
Enthusiasm and, above all, a lot of emotion also came up during Michel Roggo's presentations. He is internationally regarded as a specialist in freshwater photography. More than 20,000 of his pictures have already been published, among others in GEO, BBC Wildlife and National Geographic. His presentations, accompanied by funny and impressive stories, definitely get under your skin!
Food and drink were also a big theme at the Dive Festival. Over 100 litres of Feilsenau beer were tapped at the TSK Bar. At Le Beizli in the Vidmar halls, festival-goers were treated to excellent food. The Tapas del Vidmar were so popular that they were even sold out on Saturday.
The lectures and workshops were very well attended. Often they were even fully booked. We were able to count around 1200 visitors to the lectures over the two days. Many of the visitors even came for both days because the programme was so varied.
The Dive & Travel team was working non-stop. At the airy bar tables in the entrance area of the Vidmarhallen, with a drink or tapas in the le Beizli or in the travel area over at TSK - there was a lot of chatting about travel and attractive travel offers.
We are thrilled! The interest in the first Dive Festival Bern far exceeded our expectations.
One thing is clear, a sequel is guaranteed! Be curious...
