Swiss Alps lights up Indian flag to send a message of hope and solidarity

The Swiss Alps reached all the way to India as the country struggles with the coronavirus pandemic along with the rest of the world.

One of the highest peaks in Switzerland, the Matterhorn mountain today lit up with an image of the Indian flag to express and inspire solidarity as people face up to the alarming spread of the deadly disease which has killed more than 150,000 and infected over 2.2 million people globally.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared on Twitter the pictures of the 14,692-foot mountain lit up with the tricolour.
“The world is fighting COVID-19 together. Humanity will surely overcome this pandemic,” he wrote.

The world is fighting COVID-19 together.

Humanity will surely overcome this pandemic. https://t.co/7Kgwp1TU6A

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 18, 2020

The number of coronavirus cases in India has climbed to 14,378, which includes 480 deaths, the Union Health Ministry said today.

“Switzerland expresses solidarity with India in its fight against COVID-19. Swiss mountain of Matterhorn lit in tricolour. Friendship from Himalayas to Alps,” Gurleen Kaur, an Indian Foreign Service Officer based in Geneva, wrote on Twitter.

“The Indian flag on the Matterhorn, Switzerland’s landmark, is intended to express our solidarity and give hope and strength to all Indians,” the Zermatt tourist office tweeted.

Since the past one week, every night from sunset, the Matterhorn peak is splashed with words and images from four kilometres away onto the north and east faces of the mountain, which straddles Switzerland’s southeastern border with Italy.

“We started with a Swiss flag, because it speaks to the mountain and our nation,” light artist Gerry Hofstetter, known for transforming buildings around the world with his displays, told news agency AFP.

The words “hope”, “solidarity” and “stay home” have since been projected onto the peak, along with a giant red heart on a white background — in the Swiss national colours. The flags of Switzerland, Italy and the Swiss region of Ticino were also beamed onto the mountain on Wednesday night.