Yodel-ay-hee-whooo Boy, It's Hot in Europe

City fountains became impromptu rehearsal spaces this weekend as yodelers at a festival in Basel, Switzerland, squeezed in last-minute practice while cooling off during Europe's June heat wave. At one fountain, a folk band dipped their toes in the water on Saturday, as festivalgoers clapped along or cooled their hands under the flowing stream. From Friday to Sunday, singers and alpenhorn players filled the streets, and spontaneous bursts of yodeling echoed through restaurants, where diners initially reacted with surprise before joining in. This year, however, it was the fountain rehearsals that became the festival's defining image, as the city battled record temperatures of around 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

Around 12,000 performers and nearly 200,000 visitors traveled to Basel for the Eidgenossisches Jodlerfest, Switzerland's national yodeling festival. It was the first time the northern Swiss city has hosted the event since 1924. Swiss yodeling was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December, making this the first national festival since the tradition received international recognition. It's a distinction many Swiss take great pride in. Unlike the brighter, more melodic style often associated with Austria and the Tyrol region, Swiss yodeling is slower and more melancholic, an emotionally nuanced tradition rooted in distinct regional dialects.

The participants competed in three disciplines: yodeling, alpenhorn playing, and flag-throwing. The alpenhorn is a long wooden instrument traditionally used by herdsmen in the Alps. It can stretch to more than 10 feet in length, with its sound carrying across valleys or, during the festival, through Basel's streets. As flags were carried through the city's Old Town during the festival's closing parade, members of the Jodlerklub Muttenz yodeling club rode past on a tractor to cheers from the crowd. Alpenhorn players followed, their instruments and costumes almost certainly a burden in the heavy heat, but with their smiles intact.