what will happen in

Here, time is read in the details and measured to the nearest second. At the Musée Internationale d’horlogerie, ‘Mécanique-fiction’ is hosting Maurice Sandoz’s prestigious collection. Objects of remarkable precision, delicately crafted pieces, in which the level of detail borders on the extraordinary.

Echoing a Night of Photography that doubles its exhibition time, the image distillers of the Kolektif Alambik and the children they worked with offer their vision of watchmaking heritage. Façades become a projection surface, in large format. Behind centuries-old know-how, stories emerge. We (re)discover gestures; we recognise faces. Witnesses to a shared past, read and lived in the present.

On 24th July 2023 at 11:30 am, La Chaux-de-Fonds lost its usual rhythm. In just a few minutes, a storm swept through the city with winds exceeding 200 km/h. Centuries-old trees were uprooted, roofs were torn off and landmarks disappeared. A watchmaking city suddenly out of time. At the Anciens Abattoirs, Claudia Comte reinterprets the idea of the storm inside the building through a monumental work. A forest invades the space. Fallen trunks, displaced wood, a landscape askew. We grasp what has happened. And what still remains to be done.

In La Chaux-de-Fonds, Carnival never truly took root. A Protestant city? Perhaps. But above all, it is a city that has never felt the need to wait for a specific date to cultivate a certain form of excess and festive spirit. So, naturally, when one of its incarnations returns in 2027, it will not be a timid affair.

Processions snake around the city, brass bands fill the shops, “Bonhomme Hiver” is burned in the public square, the brass instruments resound against the shop windows and people pack in around the counters. The bar crawl continues until the early hours. Behind the fogged-up shop fronts, the music vibrates while a kind of collective intoxication gradually takes over the city.

In 24 hours, the temperature seems to have risen by two degrees, as if La Chaux-de-Fonds had decided to accelerate the end of winter itself. It’s common knowledge that this is a city that knows how to lose track of time — and it suits it well.

“Laughter is good for your health”, said a former Federal Councillor, with a seriousness that went viral. Since then, Swiss humour has been the subject of gentle teasing. Yet it has also been embraced at the same time. On stages, TV sets, and even in French radio studios. So in April, La Chaux-de-Fonds will engage it in diverse, undisciplined forms. Under the aegis, of course, of a custodian: Zouc, whose successors are well known. Starting with Tiphanie Bovay-Klameth.

In Switzerland, the SBB hold the magic formula for keeping trains running at a perfect pace without the network going off the rails: “not as fast as possible, but as quickly as necessary.” In the end, perhaps that is Swiss humour: a high-precision mechanism, always on the verge of derailment.

Rebuilt after the fire of 1794, La Chaux-de-Fonds is organised along straight lines and precise angles, following a logic of efficiency directly linked to watchmaking — a singularity now recognised by UNESCO.

Everything flows. The light as much as the cars. It is almost a street city that you pass through without really paying attention. And yet, stopping is worth your time: spaces to activate, centres to reinvest in, places that invite you to linger. In May, then, we do as we please. In collaboration with the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, we are launching a trial — not a response. A form of tactical urbanism: occupying, slowing down, seeing what changes when we adopt a little space and perspective. It all begins around the Grande Fontaine. A tipping point to slightly disrupt the machine. That is also what a Cultural Capital is for.

Monumental architecture is emerging. You can climb it, observe it, settle into it. We rediscover the landscape from another angle, almost from the sky. What used to be a thoroughfare becomes a place to take your time. The city centre reveals itself differently, the Jeudredis Bleus come alive and restaurateurs set out their terraces. A little further east, Bikini Test celebrates its 35th anniversary. The Ice Saints had better watch out…

June is the month of great gatherings. La Chaux-de-Fonds continues to surprise, and everyone agrees that in this city perched at 1000 metres, everything is still possible.

At the Anciens abattoirs, a new festival kicks off: Ultra froid, Méga loin. Here, sound stirs both the mind and the body. During the day, with m4music, we explore the ideas and themes shaping the music world. In the evening, it’s time for action: in a constant back-and-forth between listening and dancing, three stages bring together electronics, rap and contemporary jazz. As a counterpoint, we sing in chorus with Elie Zoé. Ultra-cold, mega-far. The proof is mathematical: minus × minus = plus.

On the weekend of the summer solstice, a section of Rue de la Serre becomes pedestrianised. Under the primary impulse of Louis Jucker, the DIY (Do It Yourself) festival gets under way. A collective tribute to the resourcefulness of a local scene accustomed to making do with little. Workshops are organised, soapboxes join the fray, concerts follow on from one another and ideas spark and infuse at Club 44. And in front of number 90, unmistakably, a small-scale copy of the building appears. A version designed by Giona Bierens de Haan, norne through the city by human arms. Like an emblem, a banner — honouring and making visible this raw, creative spirit that has, without a doubt, contributed to making La Chaux-de-Fonds the first Swiss Capital of Culture.

Clearing ever more ground for art is also the credo of Boris Charmatz. On 26th June at Les Éplatures, no more departures, no more arrivals. The airport comes to a standstill so that its tarmac can host a choreographic celebration that may well become legendary. A collective warm-up on a kilometre of runway, interactive workshops, shows and performances: from 4 pm, everyone is invited to join the dance as they are. No stage, no stands. Nothing but humans caught in a wave of shared pleasure. Around 10 pm, the atmosphere changes: DJs take over for the ultimate physical takeoff. There is a distinct impression that the sun has shone down a little too hard.

At a thousand metres above sea level, the city remains breathable when others are suffocating. The trees still hold strong, the evenings cool just enough. La Tchaux, as its intimates call it, takes on the appearance of an oasis. Naturally, animals return. With Lisières by Aurore Faivre and Marie Jeanrenaud, wild presences reappear on street corners and on buildings. Animal collages emerge discreetly, as if the forest were slowly reclaiming its rights. We encounter them unexpectedly. Sometimes we even look for them.

On closer inspection, they might have already been there. In La Chaux-de-Fonds, the fir tree style has long brought the nature of the Jura into the city: sculpted pine cones, birds, branches and stylised fir trees adorn Art Nouveau facades and stairwells. With its choreographic walk, ADN Danse also seeks to bring nature and culture closer together. Following in Marc Oosterhoff’s footsteps, it takes dance out of its usual venues and leads us into the forest. Forget your pointe shoes and get out your hiking boots!

On Place du Marché, in collaboration with the Locarno Film Festival, a screen appears, rows of seats align. Much like a Piazza Grande, La Chaux-de-Fonds style. We carry a light jacket for nightfall. The city becomes a backdrop: laundry hangs from windows, neighbours step out onto their balconies, some watch, others listen. The film begins and pulls us away from our reveries. A drink in hand, spritz or lemonade, we settle in. The days are long, and the evenings are too.

It is the last week of the watchmaking holidays, and no one seems in a hurry for them to end. Terraces are full, children linger outside and the streets fill with laughter, accents and reunions. La Chaux-de-Fonds suddenly seems too small for everything happening within it. Street, ring, stage: the heart of summer celebrates the performing arts in three movements.

First, it is time for La Plage des Six Pompes, Switzerland’s essential street arts festival. Under its impulse and according to Michel Crespin’s formula, “the city becomes a 360-degree stage” that we love to explore. Intimate forms and XXL formats come together to set the tone: to see things big and see them together.

In this exceptional year, the festivities continue. A little further away, on a former railway site, big tops appear, among them Circo Bello. The image recalls an archive: in 1902, during its European tour, the Barnum & Bailey circus stopped in La Chaux-de-Fonds. An entire world arrived by train: the troupe, wild animals, horses and elephants. Today, the menagerie has disappeared, and it is better that way. But the essence of the circus remains, brilliantly revisited by artists from here and elsewhere.

As the canvases are folded and the poles dismantled, the Anciens Abattoirs take up the torch. Anne Bisang’s new creation opens the final movement of this late summer ode to the performing arts. The programming is built as a united front with other Neuchâtel institutions and other Swiss festivals. Forms circulate, languages cross, and audiences travel. The Röstigraben dissolves, along with the border between the mountains and the valleys.

September opens wide. The Braderie – Horlofolies celebrates its 50th edition. Since 1932, this joyous popular event transforms La Chaux-de-Fonds into a huge collective celebration. More than 150,000 people descend on a city whose population is just a quarter of that. Local associations run the stalls, brass bands mingle with DJs, sausages disappear at an alarming rate and the caipirinhas flow. A giant puppet wanders through the streets. It all unfolds as if this were perfectly normal.

A few days later, a change of pace: turntables give way to strings, brass and other instruments. The Schubertiade RTS Espace 2 makes a stop in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Concerts abound in iconic and more unorthodox venues. For a whole weekend, music seems to emanate from everywhere. Inspired by the gatherings organised by Franz Schubert and his friends in Viennese cafés, the Schubertiade offers a different way to listen to classical music. Simpler. More intimate. For music lovers and novices alike. The watchword is decompartmentalise, and we like it very much.

We enter a venue, attend a concert then move on to another. There is no official route, except perhaps for the Saturday evening concert – a must for anyone in search of big emotions. Coming from all over Switzerland, professional and amateur musicians, young talents and renowned ensembles meet in a programme that ranges from major repertoire pieces to less expected forms. The highlight comes on Sunday at noon, when everyone is invited to sing Schubert’s German Mass. And you don’t need to be bilingual.

Les soirées se font plus fraîches. On ferme un peu plus tôt les fenêtres, on se replie à l’intérieur. C’est la saison des longues discussions qui traînent en cuisine. C’est ce qu’on appelait autrefois «faire Chaux-de-Fonds»: rester ensemble après le repas, sans forcément passer au salon. Une petite moquerie venue du bas du canton pour rappeler que, dans le haut, les appartements ouvriers n’avaient pas souvent de salon. Aujourd’hui, l’expression continue de raconter la ville et ses habitant·es. Une manière simple – et franche – d’être ensemble.

En ce mois d’octobre, il s’agit précisément de cela: entrer chez les gens. Franchir le seuil de leur foyer. Rester un moment. Partager un fragment de culture commune. Une maison devient le théâtre d’une danse. Un salon se fait scène éphémère. Une cuisine accueille les mots d’un·e auteur·ice. On pousse les meubles, on rapproche les chaises, quelqu’un·e ouvre une bouteille.

Mais certains seuils ne se franchissent pas si facilement. Alors, dans cet esprit de générosité un peu obstinée propre aux Chaux-de-fonnier·ères, l’art va aussi vers celles et ceux qui ne peuvent pas venir jusqu’à lui. À l’hôpital, une Silent disco apporte un peu de joie et de répit aux soignant·es, aux patient·es et à leurs accompagnant·es. Un concert franchit les hauts murs de la prison, un atelier de danse offre aux pensionnaires d’un EMS une échappée belle.

On pense aussi à celles et ceux qui sont loin de chez elles, loin de chez eux. Comme à celles et ceux qui n’ont pas chez soi. Tout le monde est en droit d’avoir une Capitale à soi.

November, the month of ghosts. At the Anciens Abbatoirs, it doesn’t take much to conjure the image. Originally devoted to death, the site is given a new life, yet still bears the marks of what it once was. Not everything is resolved with keys returned and signs replaced. Sometimes strong gestures, poetic and symbolic acts, are needed for the transformation to begin.

Not far from there, the Éplatures cemetery is in the process of being decommissioned. The graves are disappearing; the bodies are being exhumed. With the La Veilleuse carte blanche designed by Virginie Rebetez and Julie Houriet, what could have remained an administrative procedure becomes a change to be experienced. In the cold rooms of the Anciens Abbatoirs, they imagine a performative installation. A contemporary ritual, a secular ceremony combining stories, sculptures and photographs. Lives are honoured, one last time. As if to come full circle ahead of time.

For several months, a curious story has been unfolding on location in the Neuchâtel mountains. It tells of the Capital City, the Lower City, and the Neighbouring City. Does that ring a bell? For Grand Lac, the name of this homegrown blockbuster, André Kuenzy traded his Blue Man costume for the camera. In front of the lens, professional actors and actresses perform alongside beneficiaries of the Fondation Les Perce-Neige, an organisation dedicated to supporting people with disabilities. Over time, residents have been captivated, many becoming extras. In December, the film finally hits the big screen. We’ll see how far this story has spread.

From then on, everything accelerates. A Christmas tree in the middle of the Pod, advent calendars, last-minute gifts, festive dinner menus… This year, one more thing must be added to the list: a farewell to the Swiss Cultural Capital 2027. Hibernatus Fest, a festival dedicated to contemporary music, will orchestrate the goodbyes, bringing with it a selection of musical gems for a rich and invigorating listening experience. At the ABC, we dance a lot, we shed a few tears – even though we know that in La Chaux-de-Fonds, no matter the year or the season, culture never hibernates.