Expo 64: The astonishing visit of little Nicolet (Swiss Press Text 2015, by Florence Perret) - Swiss Press Award

Aux Editions C'était hier

Florence Perret

Author Florence Perret, PR journalist, freelance. Worked for over 20 years in the editorial offices of 24heures, Le Nouveau Quotidien, Saturne and L'Hebdo, among others. Founded the Papiers de Chine press agency in Beijing in 2008. Co-founder of Editions C'était hier, in Lausanne (December 2014). Cartoonist: Louis Morier-Genoud, 24 years old. Contributors: Patrick Morier-Genoud and Corinne Bloch, independent PR journalists, co-founders of Editions C'était hier, in Lausanne. To mark its fiftieth anniversary, Expo 64 was celebrated several times in 2014. Often glorified, even mythologized, it is both a symbol of a Switzerland entering modernity and a reminder of a time when "it was better than today." What was this famous Expo really like? What did its visitors see and experience there? There are numerous images, films, and documentation; 1964 is not so long ago. What if we asked those who visited it to tell us about it? It is on this principle that Editions C'était hier initiated the project that resulted in this album. Collecting testimonies and bringing them together, to give a voice to some of the 11,728,406 visitors to the 1964 Swiss National Exhibition. In 1964, Philippe Nicolet, a native of Lausanne, was 11 years old. A curious and enthusiastic little boy, he visited the National Exhibition held in Lausanne several times—nineteen times during the day and three times in the evening. He recorded his impressions day by day in his logbook, then in a notebook dedicated to the event. By following him on his travels, we discover a living Expo, teeming with a thousand amusing details, avant-garde technologies, opportunities to have fun, to be amazed. In addition to Philippe Nicolet's reflections, those of some forty other visitors are brought together in this book, put into perspective by a multitude of information, sometimes unusual. Expo 64 was a landmark event for millions of people; (re)discover it in a completely original way, by following in the footsteps of Petit Nicolet and a few other visitors.