The Cost of the Schueberfouer is No Amusement

First established in 1340, the Schueberfouer is an annual tradition which extends beyond the history of Luxembourg as a Grand Duchy and is deeply embedded in its cultural heritage.

The first Schueberfouer, established as a means to boost trade and commerce in Luxembourg City, took place fourteen years before Luxembourg’s transition from a territorial domain to a political entity in its own right. Its journey from a major regional market, which attracted merchants from the surrounding Holy Roman Empire territories, to the current day consumer-driven sensory overload could never have been imagined in the wildest dreams of those who first brought their wares to the city for sale almost 700 years ago.

What would a time traveller, plucked from any century preceding the modern day Schueberfouer, make of today’s neon and noise which overtakes the Glacis carpark every year?

According to the organisers and the City of Luxembourg (VdL), the annual fair generates more than 1.5 million visits during its three week run. There are very few events which can say that they attract more than twice the population of their host country. In Europe, only the Monaco and the San Marino Grands Prix can boast higher visitor-to-population ratios for a single event.

The positive economic impact for Luxembourg City during the Schueberfouer is undeniable. Despite ever increasing prices for food, drink and entertainment, the annual fair still attracts visitors from across the Grand Duchy,  through the Greater Region and beyond. Even the inevitable changing of the weather from blue skies and heat to grey clouds and sheets of rain does not dampen the enthusiasm of those who either cherish the spectacle or want to experience it for the first time.

It is certainly not my favourite place to visit, with its pounding music, throngs of people and sometimes nauseating smells, but I still go on at least one occasion every year.

Why? Firstly, it really is a Luxembourg tradition. It makes one feel part of the city’s and the country’s cultural history. It serves as a marker for the year and for the changing of the season. Its post-holiday, pre-school return placement gives it a special place in the calendar. This is likely why so many families make the visit despite the cost and hassle. I imagine that for some - both residents and cross-border visitors - it is something of a summer highlight. For the locals because it is familiar and for the visitors because it is something different.

Much like the waffles and bags of nougat on sale, the Schueberfouer experience can act like an instant hit of sugary gratification - a guilty pleasure delivered every year. It is an excuse for parents to roll back the years and ride on a rollercoaster or fire a pellet gun to win a prize. It is a justification to add to a summer’s excess by gorging on some fish and chips or a second portion of Gromperekichelcher. It is even a place for Luxembourg’s politicians to let their hair down for a few hours.

However, for the residents of Limpertsberg and the surrounding areas it is surely a very different story because the Schueberfouer also guarantees an instant spike in anti-social behaviour, littering, noise and light pollution and overcrowded streets at all hours of the day. One can either grin and bear it, escape on holiday for the duration or dive into the spectacle and hope that it somehow proves cathartic.

Yet, despite this near three-week annual blemish, the guarantee of 20 days of neon and noise does not seem to have impacted the desire for people to live in one of the city’s most expensive quarters. Do estate agents highlight it as a feature of the area or simply choose to not inform anyone moving there? Either way, it seems that even the ongoing gentrification of Limpertsberg cannot kill the Schueberfouer. But what could?

Luxembourg is an affluent country with many residents boasting a high level of disposable income but everyone has a line and, for me, paying €35 for fish, chips and salad is a hard one. For a family of four or more, that’s quite the expense. That same family would also have to pay €32 just to ride on the Ferris wheel for ten minutes (the fifteen minute queue to get on is free). Factor in a few hours spent there and the cost becomes considerable. Mercifully, there are two days this year where there will be reduced food and ride prices.

As a whole, the Schueberfouer has never been great value money but cost comparisons to previous years have now become as much a part of the event for visitors as they always were for the stallholders and companies who provide the amusements. The difference is that for the visitor it a case of luxury. For many of the workers it is often a case of survival. Then there are the ever increasing organisational costs for the city (subsidies for energy prices, security, clean-up crews). All of which are borne by the taxpayer.

It is undeniable that the Schueberfouer is an overall positive for the city and a valued tradition for many but it also undeniable that it is coming at a continually rising price, monetarily, socially and environmentally. With inflation an issue across the board and the concept of value-for-money at the forefront of decision making for both people and politicians, something will eventually have to give.

The Schueberfouer has always represented the end of the summer. But maybe we need to start asking what will represent the end of the Schueberfouer. For an event initially established to increase trade, it may be the cost of trade that eventually kills it.