General Terms and Conditions
Berne, October 2024
Gurtenfestival AG: General Terms and Conditions of Business
I. General INFORMATION
- Gurtenfestival AG is hereinafter referred to as the “organizer”. The following General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as “GTC”) apply to festival visitors and other contractual partners of the organizer.
- By purchasing a festival ticket, the purchaser or holder (hereinafter referred to as “ticket purchaser” or “ticket holder”) accepts the organizer’s general terms and conditions.
- The opening hours communicated for the respective category apply to festival visitors. The organizer reserves the right to change the opening hours without prior notice. The organizer assumes no liability for delays in admission.
II. Tickets
4. The organizer has its own ticket sales organization. The purchase of a festival ticket through the organizer’s ticket sales organization creates a contractual relationship exclusively between the ticket purchaser or ticket holder and the organizer. The website and the ticket system are protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. All rights thereto, including ownership and/or rights of use, are held by the organizer and/or its suppliers/licensors.
Ordering the ticket; use of the online ticket shop; personal data
5.Ticket purchasers make their selection via the website (ticket store), which is displayed in the shopping cart. By confirming the order, ticket purchasers submit their binding offer to purchase the selected festival tickets.
6. Ticket purchasers are obliged to provide all information required during the ordering process completely and correctly. It is the sole responsibility of ticket purchasers to place orders for festival tickets in good time before the date of the event via the ticket store (hereinafter “online order”).
7. For online ordering, the ticket purchaser must identify himself/herself in the ticket store with his/her e-mail address and password (hereinafter “access data”; the corresponding user account: “online account”). If the ticket purchaser does not yet have an online account, he/she will be asked to register in the webshop with the required details when placing the first online order. The access data provided to the ticket purchaser is intended for personal use by the ticket purchaser and must be treated confidentially. All online orders placed via the online account are attributed to the ticket purchaser as the online account holder and are binding for him/her.
8. Ticket purchasers acknowledge and agree that the organizer may obtain knowledge of their data in connection with the online ticket store service and process it in accordance with the data protection regulations.
Delivery of the ticket; Print@home
9. All tickets in the Ticketstore are not personalised.
10. Multi-day tickets cannot be split between different people.
11. The ticket will be delivered via the online ticket store account as a PDF download of the print@home ticket or via cell phone. Ticket purchasers acknowledge that it is their own responsibility and risk to have all the technical equipment required to receive and print the print@home ticket.
12. The ticket purchaser receives only one access authorization for each festival ticket purchased. Any duplication, copying, modification or imitation of the print@home festival ticket and any electronic distribution of the corresponding PDF file is expressly prohibited. However, in the event of loss or damage to the print@home ticket, ticket purchasers may reprint the print@home festival ticket, whereby they are aware of the possibility of refusal of access to the event in the event of the circumstances set out in Section 11. The damaged print@home festival ticket must be destroyed immediately. Ticket purchasers are aware that it is not possible to block the print@home ticket. In this case, the regulation according to clause 11 applies.
13. The organizer may refuse admission to the event if several printouts, reproductions, copies or imitations of a print@home festival ticket or a mobile ticket are in circulation and a ticket holder of a printout, copy or imitation of the respective print@home festival ticket has already been granted admission to the event. In particular, the organizer is not obliged to verify the identity of the ticket holder with the ticket purchaser or to verify the authenticity of the print@home ticket. If a holder of a print@home festival ticket is turned away for this reason during access control, there is no entitlement to a refund of the fee.
Payment
14. In case of online orders, payment shall be made either by charging the credit card (MasterCard, Visa) specified during the ordering process, by Postfinance payment method (Postfinance Card, Postfinance e-finance) or via TWINT. It is at the discretion of the organizer to decide which payment methods are permitted and whether/when festival tickets that have not been paid for on time will be released for sale again.
Prohibition of resale
15. The purchase of tickets for the purpose of resale (trading) is prohibited. Tickets that have not been purchased for resale may be sold at the usual market price. The organizer will carry out appropriate checks and may block tickets purchased for resale purposes and declare them invalid. Criminal proceedings remain reserved.
Wristbands
16. The festival ticket will be checked at the official cash desks and at the festival wristband exchange points of the organiser (barcode or QR code) and exchanged for a festival wristband. The festival wristband, which must be worn securely fastened to the right wrist, entitles the holder to enter the cordoned-off festival site (during the period stated on the ticket). Damaged wristbands or wristbands that are not worn securely around the wrist do not entitle the holder to use the above-mentioned service. The organiser’s security service will carry out security and admission checks at all entrances, along the site and on the site for the entire duration of the event. The instructions of the security service must be followed at all times. Lost and damaged control wristbands will not be replaced. Wristbands cannot be transferred and are only authorised for one person.
III. Measures relating to the Coronavirus
17. The ticket purchaser acknowledges that the organizer must comply with the official requirements in connection with the measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic and that these official requirements may be adjusted between the time of ticket purchase and the holding of the event.
19. Information on the applicable admission rules will be published by the organizer on the website (www.gurtenfestival.ch/en/info) and updated on an ongoing basis. It is the responsibility of the ticket purchaser to inform themselves about the applicable admission rules at the time of the event.
20. The ticket purchaser acknowledges that these admission rules can be adjusted by the organizer at any time even after the purchase of his*her festival ticket and agrees that in the event of non-compliance with the admission rules, he*she has neither a right to admission to the festival grounds nor a right to a refund of the purchase price paid for the festival ticket.
IV. Cancellation, Postponement, Interruption or TERMINATION of the Festival; Refund
21. In the event of cancellation or postponement due to force majeure (e.g. war, environmental influences, disasters, riots, piety, terrorist threat, warning or act, epidemic, pandemic (except Covid-19), official ban or non-approval of the festival through no fault of the organizer, etc.) without intentional or grossly negligent fault on the part of the organizer, a time window for reclaiming the ticket credit will be communicated in due course. From the announcement of the official reclaim process, each ticket purchaser has 60 days to decide whether to receive a refund (max. 90% of the original value) or a credit (100% of the original value will be transferred to the respective subsequent edition). If the event is also at risk in the following year, the regular procedure described above will be repeated.
22. In the event of interruption or termination of the festival due to force majeure (e.g. war, death or illness of an artist, severe weather, riots, piety, terrorist threat, warning or act, epidemic, pandemic, official ban or non-approval of the festival through no fault of the organizer, etc.) without intent or gross negligence, there is no entitlement to a return of the ticket, a refund of the purchase price or an exchange for the festival. ) without intentional or grossly negligent fault on the part of the organizer, there is no entitlement to the return of the ticket, nor to a refund of the purchase price, nor to an exchange for the next edition of the festival. Any temporary interruption of the festival from the opening of the festival doors onwards is deemed to be an interruption of the festival. Any interruption of the festival from the opening of the festival doors onwards without the resumption of festival operations is deemed to be a termination of the festival.
V. Concerts and Program
23. The organizer reserves the right to change the program without prior notice. No claims for damages can be made for cancellations by artists, changes to the schedule, performance times of artists, stage changes, etc. and the organizer rejects any liability.
24. The organizer has no influence on the design, length and content of the concerts. During concerts, there may be a risk of possible damage to hearing and health due to the volume. Earplugs will be handed out free of charge at the festival entrance, at the info point in the festival store and on the grounds. The organizer declines all responsibility for any damage to hearing or health.
25. The festival will take place in all weathers, subject to weather conditions that make it impossible to hold the festival (see also sections 20 and 21).
26. The arrival and return journey to the festival are the responsibility of the festival visitors. The organizer excludes any liability. Any inclusions in the purchased ticket for the use of public transport or the Gurtenbahn will be communicated in good time on the homepage and are part of these GTC.
VI. Payment Methods
27. The festival is cashless. The cashless card is the only possible method of payment at the festival. Other payment methods (cash, debit cards, credit cards, etc.) are not accepted.
28. The cashless card will be provided to festival visitors free of charge by the organizer. Festival visitors will receive the cashless card on site as part of the wristband exchange. Detailed information on exchanging wristbands: www.gurtenfestival.ch. Festival-goers can use the credit loaded or stored on the Cashless card to pay for goods or services at the festival.
29. In order to use the cashless card for the purchase of goods or services at the Gurtenfestival, festival visitors must load credit (in CHF) onto the cashless card. Loading is free of charge and the number of loading processes is unlimited. The Cashless card can be topped up as follows:
- The Cashless Card can only be loaded online. After opening a free online account on the website www.cashless.gurtenfestival.ch (“Load card”), the desired balance can be loaded using a credit card (Visa, Mastercard), debit card (Postcard) or TWINT. Online top-up is possible at any time from July 16, 2025 until July 20, 2025 05:00.
- A minimum amount of CHF 30.00 and a maximum amount of CHF 500.00 can be loaded onto the cashless card. The cashless card can be reloaded to this maximum amount at any time.
- In the festival area there are generally no cash points available where the cashless card can be loaded with cash, debit cards, credit cards, etc. In the event of problems or failures of the cashless system, the organizer may provide cash points at short notice.
30. The cashless card is valid for the duration of the respective Gurtenfestival (Wednesday 16 July 2024 to Saturday 19 July 2025).
31. The cashless card is used throughout the site by the acceptance points (food stalls, bars, market stalls, etc.) for cashless payment of goods or services. The price of the goods or services purchased is debited from the Cashless Card balance. By purchasing goods or services using the cashless card, festival visitors enter into a separate, independent contractual relationship with the relevant point of sale. The Gurtenfestival assumes no liability for the proper fulfillment of the contract by the acceptance points or for their services. Festival visitors themselves are responsible for the safe storage of the cashless card and protection against unauthorized theft. The authorization of the cashless card provided will not be checked by the acceptance points or any cash points. The organizer is not liable for damages incurred by festival visitors as a result of misuse of the cashless card. In the event of criminal offences, the organizer or the injured party may file a criminal complaint. The assertion of claims under civil law remains expressly reserved.
32. In the event of loss, suspected misuse or damage to the Cashless card, festival visitors are requested to report immediately to the Cashless Help Desk team outside the festival grounds at the main entrance. In the event of loss, suspected misuse or damage, registered Cashless cards will be replaced by a new Cashless card upon presentation of an official identification document (fee CHF 5.00), provided that the identification document matches the details in the online account. These are only available at the Cashless Help Desk. The credit balance available at the time of the loss report will be loaded onto this new cashless card. Existing credit on an unregistered Cashless Card cannot be replaced in the event of loss or suspected misuse.
33. The Organizer accepts no liability whatsoever for the accuracy and completeness of information and details that can be obtained at the Helps Desk Cashless, at an acceptance point, in the online account or in any other way. In particular, information on the current balance and transactions carried out is provisional and non-binding.
34. After the festival, any remaining credit will be automatically credited back to the last means of payment used. It is not possible to refund credit balances on site during the festival. In some cases, the remaining credit cannot be refunded automatically. In these cases, refunds will be made in the same way as for non-registered festival visitors. Non-registered festival visitors can reclaim their balance after the festival by entering their personal details and account details in the online refund form at www.cashless.gurtenfestival.ch. Payments are made weekly and usually within 10 working days. The online refund form will be available to festival visitors until 31 August 2025. After this date, refunds will no longer be possible. Refunds are only possible to Swiss CHF accounts. Refunds to foreign accounts are excluded. Cashless credit given away cannot be refunded and is only valid for the respective year.
35. The organiser is not responsible for disputes between festival visitors and a ticket office. Complaints in connection with the cashless ticket should be sent by email to cashless@gurtenfestival.ch. During the festival, you can contact the Help Desk Cashless centre (in front of the main entrance). Complaints concerning the credit balance on the Cashless card must be sent by e-mail to cashless@gurtenfestival.ch by 26 July 2025 at the latest. Complaints received after this date will not be considered and any resulting claims for compensation can no longer be asserted against the organiser.
36. The organiser is subject to Swiss data protection legislation. Festival visitors acknowledge that the provision and operation of the cashless system is provided by a third-party provider (WEEZEVENT SWITZERLAND Sàrl; “cashless provider”) and agree that the organiser and the cashless provider may obtain knowledge of their data in connection with the cashless service. All data processing is carried out exclusively for the purpose of operating the cashless system and repaying the remaining amount to festival visitors. Data will only be passed on for the purpose of correctly processing payments authorised by festival visitors. Data will only be passed on to authorities within the framework of mandatory national legislation. Festival visitors agree that the organiser has access to their data and transactions for the purpose of statistical analysis. The Organiser is entitled to engage third parties in Switzerland and abroad for the provision of the cashless service and to outsource individual related services to third parties in Switzerland and abroad. In accordance with the Data Protection Act (DSG), all personal data from the previous year will be deleted by mid-May of the following year at the latest.
VII. Prohibited Objects; Recordings
37. It is generally prohibited to bring glassware, aluminium, tin and spray cans, bengal flares, pyrotechnic objects and weapons of all kinds etc. A final list of the prohibited objects is available on the homepage as well as at the entrance, and is subject to these GTC. Non-compliance will result in expulsion from the festival grounds. The organiser expressly reserves the right to take further legal steps.
38. Small perfume bottles and children’s bottles made of glass as well as aluminium tubes (mayonnaise, mustard etc.) are permitted. The organiser’s security service will carry out security and admission checks with baggage searches at all official entrances and along the site for the entire duration of the event. The instructions of the security service must be followed.
39. Drones, photo, film, digital and video cameras with interchangeable lenses, audio recording devices or playback devices (with loudspeakers), selfie sticks/GoPro mounts/telescopic poles/tripods longer than 25 cm as well as musical instruments and megaphones are not permitted on the festival site. The security personnel are instructed to carry out checks. Small pocket and digital cameras and smartphones are permitted.
40. Audio and video recordings of the bands performing at the festival are not permitted. Photography with mobile phones for private use is generally permitted. Separate accreditation is required for filming and photography with professional cameras.
41. The security service employed by the organiser has the right to refuse entry to the cordoned-off festival site for important reasons. Non-compliance with these terms and conditions may constitute good cause.
42. The organiser is not liable for lost or stolen items. Lost property will be taken to the lost property office of the municipality of Köniz after the event.
VIII. Photo and Video Recordings by the Organiser and Third Parties
43. As part of the festival, the organiser, media representatives and partners will take and publish photos and videos (in print and online media, on TV, etc.). By purchasing a festival ticket, festival visitors agree that they may be depicted in these photographs and video recordings and that these photographs and video recordings may be used for the above-mentioned purposes without compensation.
IX. Liability
44. To the extent permitted by law, any liability of the organiser for its own conduct and for the conduct of its auxiliary persons is excluded. In particular, the organiser and its auxiliary persons are not liable for bodily injury or financial loss caused to festival visitors by third parties (e.g. food stall operators, market stall operators, etc.).
45. The Organiser and its suppliers shall endeavour to provide customers with the smoothest and most professional service possible in accordance with the state of the art. To this end, the Organiser makes use of proven technology as well as proven experts and suppliers, applying the necessary care. Nevertheless, the Organiser cannot guarantee the error-free or uninterrupted provision of services or rule out illegal interference with the IT system or misuse by unauthorised persons and rejects any liability for any resulting damage. Liability for third-party services is excluded to the extent permitted by law.
X. Final Provisions
46. These GTC of the Organiser are an integral part of the contract concluded with the purchase of a festival ticket. The Organiser reserves the right to amend these GTC at any time.
47. The amendments shall be deemed accepted unless actively objected to within 30 days of their publication. Amendments must be made in writing, published appropriately and reasonably acknowledged.
48. These GTC shall be governed exclusively by Swiss law, excluding its conflict of law rules and the Vienna Sales Convention. The exclusive place of jurisdiction and place of fulfilment is Berne.