Bern, November 2022
Gurtenfestival AG: General Terms and Conditions
I. General Provisions
1. Gurtenfestival AG is referred to hereinafter as the “Organiser”. The following General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as the “GTC”) apply to festival visitors and other contractual partners of the O
2. With the acquisition of a festival ticket, the acquirer or holder (hereinafter “Ticket Acquirer” or “Ticket Holder”) accepts the GTC of the O
3. Festival visitors must observe the opening hours communicated for their respective category. The Organiser reserves the right to change the opening hours without prior notice. The Organiser accepts no liability for delays at the entrance.
II. Tickets
4. The Organiser has its own ticket sales organisation. By acquiring a festival ticket through the Organiser’s ticket sales organisation, a contractual relationship is created exclusively between the Ticket Acquirer or Ticket Holder and the Organiser. The website and the ticket system are protected by copyright and other laws. All rights thereto, including ownership and/or usage rights, are held by the Organiser and/or its suppliers/licensors.
a. Ordering the Ticket; Use of the Online Ticket Shop; Personal Data
5. The Ticket Acquirers select tickets on the website (ticket shop). Their selection is then displayed in the shopping basket. Upon confirming their order, the Ticket Acquirers submit their binding offer to purchase the selected festival tickets.
6. Ticket Acquirers must provide the necessary information during the ordering process and it must be complete and correct. It is the sole responsibility of the Ticket Acquirers to place orders via the ticket shop for festival tickets in a timely manner before the date of the event (hereinafter “Online Order”).
7. To place an Online Order, the Ticket Acquirer must identify themselves in the ticket shop with their user name or e-mail address and password (hereinafter referred to as “Access Data”; the corresponding user account: “Online Account”). If the Ticket Acquirer does not have an Online Account yet, they will be asked to register and provide the required information in the ticket shop when placing their first Online O The Access Data are communicated to the Ticket Acquirer and are intended for personal use of the Ticket Acquirer. The Access Data are treated confidentially. All Online Orders placed via the Online Account are assigned to the holder of the Online Account as the Ticket Acquirer and are binding for them.
8. Ticket Acquirers acknowledge and agree that the Organiser may obtain knowledge of their data in connection with the online ticket shop service and process this data in accordance with data protection regulations.
b. Delivery of the Ticket; Print@home, Mobile Tickets
9. During the order process the Ticket Acquirer may choose that the ticket be sent in paper format to the postal address provided by the Ticket Acquirer, or delivered by e-mail with a link to download the PDF file of the print@home ticket or by mobile phone. Ticket Acquirers acknowledge that it is their own responsibility and that they bear the risk of having all the necessary technical equipment for the mobile ticket as well as to receive and print the print@home ticket.
10. Mobile tickets are delivered by SMS to the mobile phone number provided by the Ticket Acquirer after the payment is successfully made. The mobile ticket is displayed in the SMS in the form of a link or an image, depending on the model of the mobile device. When using the Gurtenfestival Mobile app, the mobile ticket will be displayed within the Gurtenfestival Mobile app.
11. For each festival ticket acquired, the Ticket Acquirer receives only one right of admission to the festival. Any reproduction, copy, modification or imitation of the print@home festival ticket and any electronic distribution of the corresponding PDF file or the mobile ticket are expressly prohibited. However, in the event of loss or damage of the print@home ticket, Ticket Acquirers may reprint the print@home Festival ticket, acknowledging the possibility that they could be refused access to the event in the circumstances set out in section The damaged print@home festival ticket must be destroyed immediately. Ticket Acquirers acknowledge that it is not possible to block the print@home ticket. In this case, too, the provisions of section 9 apply.
12. The Organiser may refuse admission to the event if several printouts, copies or imitations of a print@home festival ticket or of a mobile ticket are in circulation and a Ticket Holder of a printout, copy or imitation of the respective print@home festival ticket or the respective mobile ticket has already been granted admission to the event. In particular, the Organiser is not obliged to verify the identity of the Ticket Holder with that of the Ticket Acquirer or to verify the authenticity of the print@home or mobile ticket. In the case where a holder of a print@home festival ticket or a mobile ticket is refused admission for this reason during the access control to the festival, there shall be no entitlement to a refund of the ticket price.
c. Payment
13. When placing an Online Order, the payment is made either by debiting the credit card specified during the ordering process (Eurocard, MasterCard, Visa, American Express), by a Postfinance payment method (Postfinance Card, Postfinance e-finance) or, only for ticket purchasers residing in Switzerland or the Principality of Liechtenstein, by prepayment or immediate bank transfer (e-banking). In the case of prepayment, payment must be made within 5 working days of the order date; in the case of e-invoices, payment must be made within 2 working days of the order date. The date on which the payment request is lodged is decisive to determine whether the deadline is observed. The Organiser can decide at its discretion which methods of payment are permitted and whether/when festival tickets that have not been paid for on time will be released for sale again.
d. Prohibition of Resale
14. The acquisition of tickets for the purpose of resale (trade) is prohibited. Tickets that have not been acquired for resale may be sold at the usual market price. The Organiser will carry out appropriate checks and may block tickets acquired for resale purposes as well as declare them invalid. The Organiser reserves the right to take steps for criminal
e. Wristband
15. The festival ticket may be checked at the official ticket desks and at the Organiser’s wristband exchange points (barcode or QR code) and exchanged for a wristband. The wristband, which must be firmly fastened to the right wrist, entitles the holder to enter the closed-off festival area (during the period stated on the ticket). Damaged wristbands or wristbands that are not firmly fastened to the wrist do not entitle the person wearing it to the above-mentioned service. The Organiser’s security service will carry out security and entry checks at all entrances as well as along the grounds and on the premises throughout the duration of the event. The instructions of the security service must be followed at all times. Lost and damaged wristbands will not be replaced.
16. The Organiser can designate locations where wristbands may be passed on. The price for passing on the control wristband will be agreed individually between the wristband seller and the purchaser. The sale of a VIP wristband entitles the purchaser to admission to the festival site, but not to the VIP area. The Organiser charges a fee of CHF 5.00 for the delivery of a new control wristband. The Organiser declines all liability for the contractual relationship between the wristband seller and the purchaser.
III. Measures relating to the Coronavirus
17. The Ticket Acquirer acknowledges that the Organiser must comply with the official requirements relating to the measures against the coronavirus pandemic and that these official requirements may be adjusted between the time of ticket acquisition and when the event is held.
18. The Organiser is therefore entitled to restrict access to the festival grounds or parts thereof even after the Ticket Acquirer has acquired a ticket, or to make such access dependent on the fulfilment of certain conditions (hereinafter referred to as “Admission Rules”). The official requirements are to be understood as minimum requirements. In addition, the Organiser may, at its own discretion, impose stricter Admission Rules to gain admission to the festival site or parts thereof. In particular, the Organiser may require the presentation of a valid Covid certificate, proof of vaccination or convalescence, the provision of contact details for the purpose of contact tracing, the presentation of an identity document and the wearing of hygiene masks, or impose other appropriate
19. Information on the applicable Admission Rules will be published by the Organiser on the website (www.gurtenfestival.ch/de/info) and updated on an ongoing basis. It is the responsibility of the Ticket Acquirer to inform themselves about the Admission Rules that apply at the time of the event.
20. The Ticket Acquirer acknowledges that these Admission Rules may be amended by the Organiser at any time, even after the acquisition of their festival ticket, and agrees that in the event of non-compliance with the Admission Rules, they have 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 Suspension of the Festival; Refund
21. In the event of a cancellation or a postponement due to a force majeure incident (e.g. war, severe weather, catastrophes, civil unrest, reverence, terrorist threat or warning or act, epidemic, pandemic (except Covid-19), official ban or non-permission of the festival through no fault of the Organiser, etc.) without intentional or grossly negligent fault of the Organiser, a time period to reclaim the tickets will be duly From the announcement of the official reclaim procedure, each Ticket Acquirer has 60 days to decide either on a refund (max. 90% of the original value) or a credit (100% of the original value will be transferred to the next edition). If the event is also at risk in the following year, the ordinary procedure described above will be repeated.
22. In the event of an interruption or a suspension of the festival due to a force majeure incident (e.g. war, death or illness of an artist, severe weather, catastrophes, civil unrest, reverence, terrorist threat or warning or act, epidemic, pandemic, official ban or non-permission of the festival through no fault of the Organiser etc.) without intentional or grossly negligent fault of the Organiser, there is no entitlement to return the ticket, nor to a refund of the purchase price, nor to an exchange for the next edition of the festival. An interruption of the Festival shall be deemed to be any temporary interruption of the festival for a limited period of time after the festival doors have opened. The festival shall be deemed to be suspended if it is suspended after the opening of the doors of the festival and is not subsequently resumed.
V. Concerts and Program
23. The Organiser reserves the right to change the program without prior notice. No claims for damages can be made for cancellations of artists, changes to the schedule, artists’ performance times, stage changes, etc., and the Organiser declines all liability.
24. The Organiser has no influence over the design, length and content of the concerts. A possible risk of hearing and health damage due to the volume may exist at the Hearing protection plugs will be handed out free of charge at the festival entrance, at the info-point in the festival store and on the grounds. The Organiser declines all responsibility for any damage to hearing or health.
25. The festival shall be held no matter the weather, except in the event of weather conditions that make it impossible to hold the festival (see also sections 21 and 23).
26. The journey to and from the festival is of the responsibility of the festival visitors. The Organiser excludes any liability. Any inclusions in the acquired ticket for the use of public transportation or the Gurtenbahn will be communicated ahead of time on the homepage and are part of these GTC.
VI. Payment Methods
27. The festival will be held cashless. The Cashless Card is the only possible means of payment at the festival. Other means of payment (cash, debit cards, credit cards, etc.) will not be accepted.
28. The Cashless Card will be provided to the festival visitors by the Organiser free of charge. The festival visitors will receive the Cashless Card on site in the course of the wristband exchange. Detailed information about the wristband exchange: www.gurtenfestival.ch. Festival visitors can use the credit loaded, respectively 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. The loading is free of charge and the number of loading processes is unlimited. The Cashless Card can be loaded as follows:
a. The Cashless Card can only be loaded online. After opening the free online account on the website www.cashless.gurtenfestival.ch (“Registration”), the desired credit can be loaded by credit card (Visa, Mastercard), debit card (Postcard) or TWINT. Online recharge is possible at any time from 12 July 2023 until 16 July 2023.
b. A maximum amount of CHF 500.00 can be loaded onto the Cashless Card. The Cashless Card can be reloaded up to this maximum amount at any time.
c. In principle, there are no Cash Points available on the festival site where the Cashless Card can be loaded using cash, debit cards, credit cards, etc. In the event of problem or failure of the Cashless System, the Organiser can provide Cash Points at short notice.
30. The Cashless Card is valid for the duration of the respective Gurtenfestival (Wednesday 12 July 2023 to Sunday 16 July 2023).
31. The Cashless Card is used by the acceptance points (food stalls, bars, market stalls, etc.) on the entire site for the cashless payment of goods or services. The price of the goods or services purchased will be debited from the credit balance of the Cashless Card. With the purchase of goods or services, festival visitors enter into a separate, independent contractual relationship with the respective acceptance point by means of the Cashless Card. The Gurtenfestival assumes no liability for the proper fulfilment of the contract by the acceptance points or for their services. The festival visitors are responsible for the safekeeping of the Cashless Card and the protection against unauthorized theft. The authorization of the Cashless Card presented will neither be checked by the acceptance points nor by any Cash Points. The Organiser is not liable for any damage incurred by festival visitors due to misuse of the Cashless Card. In the event of matters relevant to criminal investigations, criminal charges may be brought by the Organiser or the person who suffered damages. The right to assert claims under civil law is expressly reserved.
32. Provided that the festival visitors have registered, they can block the Cashless Card in their online account themselves and at any time in the event of loss or suspected misuse. In addition, festival visitors are requested to immediately report any loss, suspected misuse or damage of the Cashless Card to a Clearing Point on the festival site or to the Clearing Point outside the festival site at the main entrance. In the event of loss, suspected misuse or damage, registered Cashless Cards will be replaced with a new Cashless Card upon presentation of an official identification document, provided that the identification document matches the details entered in the online account. The credit balance available at the time of the loss report will be loaded onto this new Cashless Card. The existing credit balance of a non-registered Cashless Card cannot be replaced in the event of loss or suspected misuse.
33. The Organiser accepts no responsibility for the correctness and completeness of information and details that can be requested at a Clearing Point, at an acceptance point, in the online account or in any other way. In particular, information on the current balance and effected transactions shall be deemed to be provisional and non-binding.
34. After the festival, any remaining credit will be automatically credited back to the last means of payment used. The refund of credit on site during the festival is not possible. In some cases, the remaining credit cannot be refunded automatically. In this case, the refund will be made in the same way as for non-registered festival visitors. Non-registered festival visitors can donate their balance after the festival or reclaim it by providing their personal details and account information in the online refund form at cashless.gurtenfestival.ch. Refunds will be issued on a weekly basis and usually within 5 working days. The online refund form will be available to festival visitors until 31 December 2023. After that date, refunds will no longer be possible. The costs for refunds to foreign accounts will be charged 100% to the visitor/recipient. Gifted Cashless credit is non-refundable and valid only for the respective year.
35. The Organiser is not responsible for disputes between festival visitors and an acceptance point. Any complaints related to the Cashless Card should be sent by e-mail to cashless@gurtenfestival.ch. During the festival it can be reported at a Clearing Point (in front of the main entrance or at the tent stage). Complaints concerning the balance on the Cashless Card should be sent via e-mail to cashless@gurtenfestival.ch by 24 July 2023 at the latest. Complaints received after this date will not be taken into consideration, and any claims for compensation arising therefrom cannot be asserted against the Organiser.
36. The Organiser is subject to the Swiss legislation on data protection. Festival visitors acknowledge that the provision and operation of the Cashless System is provided by a third-party (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 Services. Any data processing will be carried out exclusively for the purpose of operating the Cashless System and refunding the outstanding balance to the festival visitors. Data will only be disclosed for the purpose of correct processing of payments authorized by festival visitors. Data will only be disclosed to authorities within the framework of mandatory national legal provisions. The festival visitors agree that the Organiser may have access to their data and transactions for the purpose of statistical analysis. The Organiser is entitled to involve third parties in Switzerland and abroad for the provision of the Cashless Services 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 no later than mid-May of the following year.
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.
Small perfume bottles and glass children’s bottles as well as aluminium tubes (mayonnaise, mustard, etc.) are permitted. The Organiser’s security service will carry out security and admission checks, including searching bags, at all official entrances and along the festival grounds for the entire duration of the event. The instructions of the security service must be followed.
38. Drones and photo, film, digital and video cameras with interchangeable lenses, audio recording devices or players (with speakers), selfie sticks/GoPro mounts/telescopic poles/tripods longer than 25 cm as well as musical instruments and megaphones are not permitted on the festival grounds or in the sleeping z The security service is instructed to carry out checks. Small pocket cameras and digital cameras as well as smartphones are permitted.
39. Audio and video recordings of the bands performing at the festival are not permitted. Photography with mobile phones for private use is generally allowed. Filming and photography with professional cameras requires specific
40. The security service engaged by the Organiser has the right to deny persons entry to the closed-off festival grounds for good cause. Non-compliance with these contractual conditions may constitute a good cause.
41. 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
42. During the festival, the Organiser, media representatives and partners will take and publish photographs and film footage (in print and online media, on TV, etc.). By acquiring a festival ticket, festival visitors agree that they may be depicted in these photos and videos and that these photos and videos may be used for the above-mentioned purposes without compensation.
IX. Liability
43. 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 injuries or financial losses, caused to festival visitors by third parties (e.g. operators of food or market stalls, etc.).
44. The Organiser and its suppliers endeavour to offer the customers the smoothest and most professional service possible in accordance with the state of the art. To this end, the Organiser uses proven technology as well as proven experts and suppliers, while applying the necessary care. Nevertheless, the Organiser cannot guarantee error-free or uninterrupted provision of the services or exclude unlawful interventions in the IT system or misuse by unauthorised persons and excludes any liability for any resulting damage. Liability for services provided by third parties is excluded to the extent legally permissible.
X. Final Provisions
45. These GTC of the Organiser are an integral part of the contract concluded upon the acquisition of a festival ticket. The Organiser reserves the right to amend these GTC at any time.
The amendments are deemed to be accepted unless actively objected to within 30 days of their publication. The amendments require the written form, appropriate publication and reasonable notice.
46. These GTC shall be governed exclusively by Swiss law, excluding its conflict of law rules and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The exclusive place of jurisdiction and performance is Bern