bar

WITH my Minnie Mouse ears on, I’m stood in an Italian piazza with a glass of Prosecco in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other.

My friend has a pint of German beer and we click glasses to raise a toast in the Florida sun. It’s all very confusing.

When it comes to entertainment and attractions, Disney theme parks often raise the bar, but a new drinking game started by Disney World fans has created a new – rather boozy – way to enjoy one of the Florida theme parks.

The most magical bar crawl on Earth takes place at Disney’s EPCOT theme park, part of Walt Disney World.

It’s been dubbed ‘drinking around the world’ and has almost become an attraction in itself for Disney adults.

EPCOT is themed around future innovations and world community and there’s a huge lake surrounded by 11 pavilions representing different countries from around the globe.

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Here, you can experience different cultures, with attractions, crafts, food and drinks from countries including Japan, Norway, Morocco and Mexico.

With each pavilion serving traditional food and drink favourites from their own country, it wasn’t long before fans began taking on the challenge to sample food and cocktails from each one as they explore the EPCOT park.

However, with cocktails including the cult Avocado Margarita from Mexico, a whisky-based Ottawa Apple from Canada and a vodka-laden Canto Loopy from China, it doesn’t take long to get a bit tipsy.

Plus, at between £12 and £21 per cocktail, then tax and tip on top, it’s not the cheapest way to spend the day.

However, the challenge is a lot of fun and on a sunny day, it’s a very chilled-out way to relax and enjoy the beautiful EPCOT park without the hustle to get on all the rides.

However, this boozy bar crawl is not for the faint hearted. Big cups and generous pours mean it’s easy to get drunk quickly. 

Theme park staff and security won’t tolerate anyone intoxicated and behaving badly, so don’t go overboard. It’s worth nothing there are non-alcoholic options available too.

Since each pavilion also serves local foods, it’s a good idea to sample a snack at each place too.

If you’re on a family holiday, though, it’s fair to say your kids would probably rather meet Elsa and Anna than stop for a frozen daiquiri. 

So, it’s usually couples or friendship groups visiting without children who indulge in all 11 country-themed tipples.

As a Disney expert who has visited the Disney parks over 55 times, I have never managed to drink at every spot around the world in one day – with the most I could manage being just eight of the 11 pavilions.

However, recently my friend Marcus and I attempted to do all 11 by sharing a drink at each place to make it more affordable and, most importantly, less intoxicating!

We were in Orlando for work and decided to go to EPCOT for the day and take on the challenge.

We tried ‘drinking around the world’ at Disney

We headed to the World Showcase at lunchtime, starting in the Mexico Pavilion where we grabbed some tacos and our first cocktail of the day – a margarita from Mexico.

The Choza de Margarita bar has a huge list of different margarita flavours, with the cult favourite being the avocado margarita.

However, my personal recommendation is the Blood Orange (£14). Fresh, fruity and dangerously drinkable!

The Mexico pavilion is a great place to start around midday, as Mexican snacks like tacos and nachos make for a great lunch and there is an outdoor terrace with views over the lake.

I could very easily have stayed all afternoon, sampling some of the other marg flavours as well as Picantes and Palomas but, to stay on track – and on my feet – after a while we set off to pavilion number two: Canada

The Canadian location didn’t have as much atmosphere as Mexico, so we didn’t end up staying for long, stopping off just to pick up our next drink – which is actually one of my favourites.

If you like your cocktails sweet, the Ottawa Apple (£12.50,) is a hit.

This iced cocktail is made with Canadian Whisky, Maple, Apple Infusion, and Cranberry Juice and despite being full of ice, is like a warm hug. 

You actually pick this up from a popcorn kiosk, so we also grabbed a box of the moorish Maple Popcorn (£5) to snack on as we strolled over to the next stop.

If you want to hang around, there is a lot of open space here. You can grab a bench along the water’s edge and soak up the view.

Our next stop is the United Kingdom pavilion, which is very funny for Brits visiting Walt Disney World.

There are storybook ‘British’ streets, red phone boxes and cute little English rose gardens.

For those who love Disney characters, we bumped into Winnie the Pooh and Tigger here too.

The top spot is the British pub, Rose and Crown. Inside really does feel like the boozer down the road, – just a lot cleaner and with no fruit machines.

This is one of the most popular spots for Disney guests – especially those ‘drinking around the world’.

It’s one of the only places in Orlando to get a proper British pint and there is always a line. Probably because more than 800,000 Brits visit Orlando every year.

One of the best things about the World Showcase at EPCOT is that each pavilion has a team of staff from that country.

Marcus and I got chatting to the bartender, who was originally from Wolverhampton.

If you’re really missing home and you feel hungry, you can order traditional Fish and Chips here too and tables were packed with people tucking in.

For me, it could never be the same as back home though.

Marcus sampled the Snake Bite Imperial Pint for £9.50, which is half cider and lager and brought back memories of drinking in the Student Union.

Sticking with Europe, after this we moved on to one of my favourite pavilions, France.

The France pavilion is huge, with a popular attraction, Ratatouille, and lots of cute shops selling very French things, like perfume, macarons and pastries.

But, of course, we headed straight to the Les Vins de Chefs de France stand, for a fan-favourite Grand Marnier Orange Slush (£11.50).

This is a proper boozy slushie made with Grand Marnier, Rum, orange vodka and orange Juice. 

The queue is always so long for this drink, but that’s probably a good thing since it’s the most delicious, cold refreshment, which doesn’t feel at all boozy.

The 20-minute wait means you probably won’t keep going back for more and end up very sloshed in France, with seven pavilions still to go.

Picking ours up, we nabbed a spot in the sun next to the Beauty and the Beast garden and also picked up a box of macarons from the Boulangerie Patisserie as a sweet treat to go with it.

Morocco, Japan and the American Adventure pavilion were up next.

Japan also has a great alcoholic slushie, the Blood Orange Saki Mist (£10), but Marcus went for a non-alcoholic option here for a bit of a break.

I did the same in Morocco, opting for an iced mint tea but there are some fab drink options, including a Pomegranate Mimosa (£14)

The USA serves a less boozy slushie, the 0% American Dream (£5) made with Frozen Fanta Wild Cherry, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Frozen Fanta Blue Raspberry. 

By the time we reached Italy it was late afternoon, and we had worked out up quite an appetite. At 5ft 5 and 140lbs, I was also definitely getting a bit tipsy too.

Make time to hydrate

Lunch was timed perfectly at the Italy-themed pavilion, where you can grab a large slice of pizza to line your stomach. Washed down with a Prosecco (£10) of course – how could we resist?

Just along from here is Italy’s European sister, Germany but at this point I couldn’t handle any more liquids! I have it on good authority that the Bärenjäger Honey & Bourbon cocktail at Biergaten is great though £12 for the glass.

And of course, you are spoilt for choice with German beer.

At China, Marcus tried the Canto Loopy (a vodka and cantaloupe mix, £10.50) but I was more interested in sampling the pot stickers and potato and pea samosas (£5).

The final bar around the EPCOT world can found in Norway, which is a good place to wind things down.

It’s here you can ride the Frozen: Ever After boat ride, meet characters from Frozen and try one of the fan-favourite snacks – the School Bread (£4.50) from the Kringla Bakeri og Kafe. This is a custard roll topped with coconut and easily the best sweet treat in the whole park.

Perfectly complimenting this is the very alcoholic Viking Coffee – a boozy little liquid desert to end the day (£13.50).  It’s made with Baileys and Kamora Coffee Liqueur with Coffee-Chocolate Sauce, and garnished with Coffee-Chocolate Crunch.

The day was fun but I wasn’t sure if I’d still be awake for the fireworks show, Luminous: The Symphony of Us, which starts at 9pm.

It’s fair to say that by now I was definitely more drunk than tipsy. My hotel bed was calling for me.

A massive burger and chips was in order to sober up and as we scoffed our tea, I could hear the delighted screams of people riding Test Track, a high-speed car ride.

We’d had a fun day just strolling around in the sun but at roughly £75 to get in and almost £400 spent on food and drink between us, I couldn’t help thinking my time would have been better spent riding all the amazing attractions that I can’t do at home.

After a proper dinner and a ride on the calm and easy ‘Living with the Land’ boat ride, we wandered back over to the lake as the sun was setting, finding ourselves right back where we started, at the Mexico pavilion.

It was still going strong with tequila-drinking revellers and a Mariachi band playing in the background.

Was it a good idea to get another sumptuous margarita to sip along with the fireworks?

We’d drunk all around the world today, what’s one more cheeky cheers for the road?

My husband and I live in Pasadena. We moved from Los Feliz about 10 years ago. We have struggled to find LGBTQ+ events this far east. We can only hit up Boulevard so many times (although we love it). Any advice for finding LGBTQ+ events in Pasadena, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Glendale or the SGV? I feel like there are bars out here that may host weekly events that I just don’t hear about. — Will Birnie

Looking for things to do in L.A.? Ask us your questions and our expert guides will share highly specific recommendations.

Here’s what we suggest:

Will, you are so right. While there are several queer bars around your former neighborhood (Hi Tops in Los Feliz, Akbar in Silver Lake, Club Bahia in Echo Park and Honey’s at Star Love in East Hollywood), they are few and far between in the eastern part of L.A. County. But your question sent me down a rabbit hole and I’m proud to report that I’ve found a handful of spots and regular events that you should check out in your area. (Shout out to my colleagues and everyone who responded to my request for help on Instagram.)

Highland Park is home to the Offbeat, which is one of my friend Jaycen Mitchell‘s favorite bars in the area. The beloved dive bar hosts karaoke nights, drag shows, live music performances, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” screenings and other themed nights throughout the week. “I’ve been able to see all of my favorite drag queens there in more intimate settings, and the DJs have had me and my friends dancing until we were the last ones there,” Mitchell tells me. Also in Highland Park is Blind Barber, a speakeasy that hosts Homo Happy Hour on Thursdays. Mitchell says the happy hour is always a good time and a chance to “show up as your authentic self, be in community and queen out with your girls.”

Then in Glendale, there’s Junior High, a nonprofit art gallery and inclusive gathering space that hosts a variety of events, including music shows, artist showcases, comedy nights, pottery workshops and more. A standout event is Fantasy Suite, a pole dance show that features queer dancers with varying body types. Cherry Jayne and Jax “Lil Sumthin” launched the queer strip club experience in 2022 after struggling to find work due to “fatphobia that plagues traditional strip club hiring,” they told me. The next event will take place Feb. 7 and will feature Valentine’s Day songs of love, lust and heartbreak.

At Footsies in Cypress Park, Latino queer artist and DJ Mino Sanchez and his boyfriend, Ivan Castaneda, who also DJs, have been hosting Gay Night for nearly four years. The event, which happens on the second Saturday of each month, features BIPOC queer DJs who spin house, disco, Spanish dance music, electronica, pop and international sounds. There’s also a drag performance at midnight. In El Monte, the San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center hosts Gayme Night on the third Thursday of every month. The all-ages event features karaoke along with video and board games.

And you already know and love Boulevard — it really is a gem (and it’s the only gay bar in Pasadena). Though it was at risk of closing during the pandemic, the 45-year-old bar survived and continues to host a drag trivia night on Tuesdays and a drag show on Friday nights hosted by Borgia Bloom Facade. Times food columnist Jenn Harris writes that the Boulevard bar has served as a “safe haven for the gay community in the area and an alternative to the West Hollywood bar scene.”

If you’re looking for a different type of community beyond bars and events, my colleague Jaclyn Cosgrove recommends Throop Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena. “My pastor, Rev. Tera Landers, likes to say she doesn’t like religion, but she loves church,” says Cosgrove, who also lives in Pasadena. “That’s in large part because of the community we have at [the church] including our choir, which has a large number of transgender and queer members. It is where I go to refill my cup every Sunday.”

I hope this list helps you and your husband find more spaces around your neighborhood to build community and have a great time.

In the wake of the devastating fire at a bar in Crans-Montana, many Swiss citizens are asking themselves if their political system is fit for purpose.

Switzerland, often praised for its efficiency, has a very devolved system of government, in which villages and towns are run by local officials elected from and by the community.

It is a system the Swiss cherish, because they believe it ensures accountability.

But there are inherent weaknesses: hypothetically, the official approving a bar license or passing a fire-safety check is the friend, neighbour, or maybe even cousin of the bar owner.

When the news of the fire emerged on New Year’s Eve, first there was shock. Such devastating fires are not, people thought, supposed to happen in Switzerland.

Then there was grief – 40 young people lost their lives, 116 were injured, many of them very seriously. Questions followed – what caused such a catastrophe?

And finally, this week – fury when Crans-Montana’s Mayor, Nicolas Feraud, revealed that Le Constellation bar had not been inspected since 2019.

Crans-Montana is in the Swiss canton of Valais, where fire-safety inspections are the responsibility of Mayor Feraud and his colleagues, and they are supposed to happen every 12 months.

Not only had the checks not taken place, the mayor said, he had only become aware of this after the fire. And, he revealed, of 128 bars and restaurants in Crans-Montana, only 40 had been inspected in 2025.

Asked why, Feraud had no answer, though he did suggest Crans-Montana had too few inspectors for the number of properties that needed checking.

This was echoed by Romy Biner, the mayor of neighbouring upmarket resort Zermatt, who told local media that many communities in the canton of Valais did not have the required resources to inspect so many premises. This is not a line that plays well with many Swiss, who know that Crans-Montana and Zermatt are two of the richest winter resorts in the country.

So when Feraud faced the press, there were pointed questions from Swiss journalists: How well did the mayor know the bar’s owners? Had he ever been to the bar? And, was there any possibility of corruption?

“Absolutely not,” was his indignant answer to the last question.

The mother of two brothers who survived the fire also had questions. “We urgently need complete, transparent answers,” she wrote on social media.

When they escaped the burning bar, each of her sons had thought at first that the other was dead.

“They escaped, but they are deeply traumatised. They will carry the emotional scars forever.”

Those questions, from journalists and families, reveal the problems of Switzerland’s devolved political system.

Elected officials in towns like Crans-Montana have many responsibilities as well as fire safety – running schools and social services, even collecting taxes.

Most of these officials work part-time and, once elected, continue with their day jobs.

Nowadays some communes may be over-challenged trying to supply and oversee all the services a 21st-Century population expects, but Swiss voters expect better than what they heard from Mayor Feraud.

The headlines after his press conference were savage. Many demanded Mayor Feraud and his colleagues resign. Feraud ruled this out, saying, “we were elected by the people. You don’t abandon ship in the middle of a storm”.

“A failure right across the board”, wrote the broadsheet Tagesanzeiger. “Now Switzerland’s reputation is on the line.”

“An utter disaster”, wrote the tabloid Blick, “a total failure of fire safety checks.”

Reputational damage is something the Swiss both hate and fear. Switzerland is a rich country, in part because of its reputation for safety, stability, reliability, and, among its own citizens, accountability.

If those in charge damage that reputation, and put the country’s success at risk, the Swiss are unforgiving.

Heads rolled two decades ago when Swissair, the much-loved national airline, went bankrupt.

Once nicknamed affectionately “the flying bank”, Swissair’s management had made a series of risky financial investments that left the airline dangerously over-extended.

In 2008, banking giant UBS, in which many Swiss, especially pensioners, had shares, had to be bailed out by Swiss taxpayers to prevent not just its own downfall, but disastrous consequences for the global economy.

When the bank’s reckless over-exposure to subprime mortgages was revealed, there was outrage. At the bank’s annual general meeting that year, normally sedate elderly shareholders hissed and booed.

One even jumped on to the stage, demanding the management give up their generous bonuses, ironically waving a string of Swiss bratwursts under their noses “in case you go hungry”.

Crans-Montana, too, has aroused that same angry feeling of trust betrayed. But this is much worse than Swissair or UBS. Forty people, many of them teenagers, are dead. Dozens more have suffered life-changing injuries.

The Swiss authorities know there must be answers, quickly.

At Friday’s memorial service, the president of Valais, Matthias Reynard, was close to tears as he promised a “strict and independent” investigation, warning that “relevant political authorities” would be held accountable.

Switzerland’s president Guy Parmelin said he expected justice “without delay and without leniency”.

The owner of the bar is now in custody, subject to a criminal investigation, but the role of the local government is sure to be examined, too. There are already calls for fire-safety inspection in Valais canton to be taken away from local town councils and given to the cantonal authorities.

Romain Jourdan, a lawyer acting for some of the families, has announced plans to file a case against Crans-Montana’s town council. The families, he said, “are demanding that all local officials be questioned, so that such a tragedy never happens again”.

There is a deeper, nationwide soul-searching going on as well. The Swiss want to know why their beloved devolved system, which many, perhaps complacently, believed to be near perfect, went so catastrophically wrong.

In the first hours after the fire, many people, along with their shock and grief, felt a certain quiet pride that their emergency services had responded so quickly.

Firefighters, ambulances crews, and even helicopters were at the scene within minutes. The emergency services were present at the memorial service. Many openly wept.

The shock and grief still sits deep, but the pride has evaporated.

What good are top-of-the-range, highly professional emergency services, the Swiss are asking themselves, if basic fire safety checks are neglected?

Switzerland’s government says finding answers is a moral responsibility – to the families above all, but also to its own voters.

Jan. 6 (UPI) — The bar where 40 people were killed and 116 injured in a blaze in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana on New Year’s Day had not undergone an annual safety inspection since 2019, the town’s mayor admitted Tuesday.

Mayor Nicolas Feraud offered his apologies at a news conference, saying the municipal council was “profoundly sorry” but said he had no explanation as to why no checks on The Constellation bar had been carried out for so long.

“I have no answer for you today. We regret that — we owe it to the families and we will accept the responsibility. We’re profoundly sorry about that and I know how hard that will be for the families,” said Feraud.

He said the town had a five-strong team of people responsible for inspecting more than 10,000 buildings but did not give that as the reason for the failure and insisted he and other councilmen and women would not be resigning.

He said now was not the time to “jump ship” after being elected by Crans-Montana residents.

An outside contractor will now be brought in to carry out a safety audit and inspection of 128 public establishments in the town, but the failure has raised questions over Switzerland’s system of local politics run by non-career officials, many of them part-timers who often have day jobs.

However, Feraud did announce a local ban on use of sparklers — believed to have set the ceiling of the bar ablaze when pyrotechnic champagne bottles were carried too high aloft — inside all commercial premises.

Soundproofing foam on the ceiling that has been blamed for the rapid spread of the fire was within code when The Constellation was last inspected but Feraud said the use of sparklers in spaces fitted with the foam was irresponsible.

Feraud also pointed to crowding in excess of the legally permitted capacity of the premises, which he said was the responsibility of the management of the bar, but said it would for judges to decide whether local officials should fall under the criminal investigation being pursued by prosecutors.

He said the French owners of the bar, Jacques Moretti and Jessica Moretti, were under investigation, but had not been arrested. A second venue they owned had been shut, he added.

The prosecutors’ office for the Valais region said the couple were being investigated on suspicion of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

Feraud said the council had provided prosecutors with all relevant documents and would join the case as a civil party.

The developments came as authorities completed identification of all the victims and began the process of returning them to families in Switzerland, Italy, France and countries around the world.

The majority of those caught up in the tragedy were young with an average age of 19.

Swiss authorities say fire safety inspections had not been carried out at the bar in Crans-Montana since 2019.

No safety inspections had been carried out for more than five years at a Swiss bar where 40 people were killed during New Year’s celebrations, local authorities have revealed.

Crans-Montana Mayor Nicolas Feraud said at a news conference on Tuesday that no fire checks had taken place at the Le Constellation ski bar since 2019.

“Periodic inspections were not conducted between 2020 and 2025. We bitterly regret this,” Feraud told reporters in the Alpine ski resort.

The fire tore through the popular ski bar early on New Year’s Day. Most of the victims were teenagers. The youngest who was killed was a 14-year-old Swiss girl, followed by two 15-year-old Swiss girls. The oldest was a French national, aged 39.

Police said on Monday that 83 people are still being treated in hospital. In total, 116 people were injured in the blaze.

Authorities believe the fire started when revellers raised champagne bottles with lit sparklers attached, setting light to sound-insulating foam on the ceiling of the bar’s basement.

Feraud said the foam was considered acceptable at the time of the last fire safety check at the bar in 2019.

The mayor announced that all sparkler candles have now been banned inside bars and clubs in Crans-Montana. A statement from the local council said an external agency has been commissioned to further inspect all public establishments.

Authorities are investigating the two people who ran the bar on suspicion of crimes, including homicide by negligence. On Sunday, police said circumstances did not currently merit them being put under arrest and they did not see any flight risk.

Jan. 5 (UPI) — All 40 victims of a Swiss bar fire that erupted New Year’s Eve have been identified, according to police, who continue to investigate the deadly blaze.

Forty people were killed and 119 were injured in the fire at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps early Thursday.

Valais Cantonal Police announced in a statement Sunday that an additional 16 victims of the fire have been identified, meaning all deceased have been named.

The victims identified Sunday range in age from 14 to 33, with the youngest being a boy from France.

Among the deceased were nine minors, including four aged 15, two girls from Switzerland, one girl from Italy and a boy with French, Israeli and British citizenship. Two 16-year-olds, both Italian, one boy and one girl; and two 17-year-olds, one Belgian girl and a French boy, were also identified Sunday.

The adults were from France, Switzerland and Portugal. One victim identified Sunday was a dual Swiss-French national.

Of all 40 victims, 20 were minors: two 14-year-olds, six 15-year-olds, nine 16-year-olds and three 17-year-olds.

The oldest adult victim was 39.

Police have opened a criminal investigation into the fire and have charged two managers of the bar with negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson.

The two suspects have not been detained as they do not pose a flight risk and there is no suspicion that they intend to evade the criminal proceedings, authorities said Sunday.

“The investigation is continuing in order to determine any other potential criminal liabilities,” Valais Cantonal Police said in a separate Sunday update on the investigation.

Preliminary evidence indicates that the fire was caused by pyrotechnic devices called “fountains” that produce sparks and flames. They are designed to be placed on the ground or held by hand.

Uncorroborated video of the fire published online shows fire spreading across the bar’s ceiling, apparently lit by the fountain devices that had been attached to the mouths of alcohol bottles that were being paraded around the facility as part of bottle service.

Witnesses told police that the fire spread rapidly, generating a lot of smoke and intense heat.

“Everything is said to have happened quickly,” Valais Cantonal Police said.

According to authorities, the next phase of the investigation will focus on whether the facility was in compliance with local laws and fire safety regulations over materials used in the building, the existence and condition of emergency exits and the presence of firefighting equipment.

A devastating fire at Le Constellation bar in the Swiss ski resort killed at least 40 people and injured 119 others.

Bodies continue to be identified and a criminal investigation is under way.

“We can’t imagine how it is, but it’s for sure terribly hard,” Rast told BBC’s Ski Sunday.

“I hope they will find the support with their family and everybody around. And I hope that the sport will bring a little smile on their face.”

Rast finished a close second to Shiffrin in the previous World Cup slalom event in Austria but was not to be denied a second time, making sure the World Cup’s greatest skier could not add to her record tally of 106 wins in all disciplines.

Shiffrin was just 0.1 seconds behind leader Rast after the first run, but set an imposing time in the second that opened a 1.69secs lead over the rest of the field.

But Rast went even faster to beat Shiffrin into second place.

“I know Shiffrin is really fast and I had to be really, really fast to beat her. I saw her start and I was like ‘mmm, OK, that’s good, that’s really good’, but I just tried to give my best, and it worked,” she said.

There are two more World Cup slalom events – in Flachau, Austria, on 13 January, and Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic on 25 January – before the Winter Olympics begin in Milan-Cortina on 6 February.

According to the Valais police, those identified include 10 Swiss people, two Italians, one person with Italian-Emirati citizenship, one Romanian, one person from France, and one from Turkiye.

Swiss police say they have identified 16 more of those who died during a fatal fire in a bar on New Year’s Eve that killed 40 people, in one of the country’s deadliest disasters.

According to the Valais police on Sunday, those identified include 10 Swiss nationals, two Italians, one person with Italian-Emirati citizenship, one Romanian, one person from France, and one from Turkiye.

So far, 24 people have been identified among those who died in the blaze at the Le Constellation bar in the mountain resort of Crans-Montana, southern Switzerland.

The wait for families for news of their loved ones has been anguished.

Of those identified, the youngest person to have been killed is a 14-year-old Swiss girl, followed by two 15-year-old Swiss girls.

According to the police, 10 other bodies identified on Sunday were teenagers aged between 16 and 18. Two Swiss men, aged 20 and 31, and a French national, aged 39, were also identified.

Officials are continuing efforts to identify the remaining casualties from the fire that injured about 119 people, some of whom suffered severe burns and were transferred to burn units across Europe.

For the local community, the aftermath of the tragic fire is causing acute distress.

Damiano Vizioli, a 24-year-old living in neighbouring Sion, was in Le Constellation on New Year’s Eve but had gone outside to smoke a cigarette when the bar was suddenly engulfed in flames.

“I’m not sleeping well because I can hear the people screaming,” Vizioli told the Reuters news agency. He went back to the bar, desperate for news of a friend working there whom he has not heard from since.

Eric Schmid, a 63-year-old local businessman, also told Reuters that the disaster will be felt “quite deep, and I think it’ll take time to heal”.

“We [the Swiss] are mountain people. We will survive, of course, but that’s not the most important thing,” he said.

“It’s more about the kids and all these people who have been affected. But the messages and signs of solidarity are super important,” he added.

Swiss prosecutors said on Saturday two people who ran the bar are under criminal investigation on suspicion of offences including homicide by negligence.

BBC

Bottles with sparklers held in the air

Questions about foam padding on ceiling

Exit routes from the bar

Sparklers used before

YouTube

Investigators are rushing to identify the victims and establish the cause of a devastating fire at a New Year’s Eve party that ripped through a bar in the Swiss Alps town of Crans-Montana.

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their loved ones, with many circulating photos on social media after the disaster that happened in the early hours of 2026, killing about 40 people and injuring about 115 others, many seriously.

“We tried to reach them; some of their locations are still showing here,” Valais, a teenager who was attending the party, told the AFP news agency, nodding at the bar now shielded by opaque white tarpaulins and behind a wall of temporary barriers.

“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” Eleonore, another one, said.

“But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know,” she added.

Officials have started the arduous process of identifying the victims, but with some of the bodies badly burned, police warned the process could take days or even weeks.

“The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies,” Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Feraud told a news conference on Thursday evening. This, he said, could take days.

Mathias Reynard, head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental and DNA samples for the task.

“All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100 percent sure,” he said.

Bystanders described scenes of panic and chaos during the incident as people tried to break the windows to escape, and others, covered in burns, poured into the street.

The exact number of people who were at the bar when it went up in flames remains unclear, and police have not specified how many are still missing.

Le Constellation had a capacity of 300 people, plus another 40 people on its terrace, according to the Crans-Montana website. Crans-Montana is about 200km south of the Swiss capital, Bern.

More than 30 victims were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne, and six were taken to Geneva, according to the Swiss media.

There is no official estimate of the missing or headcount from Le Constellation bar that night.

While Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed, Italy has put the death toll at 47, based on information from Swiss authorities.

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are missing and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will visit Crans-Montana on Friday, Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Cornado said.

All bar five of the 112 injured had been identified now, Cornado said. Six Italians are still missing and 13 hospitalised, he added. Three Italians were repatriated on Thursday and three more will follow on Friday, he said.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens figured among the injured, and eight others remained unaccounted for.

‘The apocalypse’

Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who took over on Thursday, called the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions”, and announced that flags would be flown at half-staff for five days.

The fire broke out at about 1:30am (00:30 GMT) on Thursday at Le Constellation, a bar popular with young tourists.

“We thought it was just a small fire – but when we got there, it was war,” Mathys, from neighbouring Chermignon-d’en-Bas, told AFP. “That is the only word I can use to describe it: the apocalypse.”

Authorities have declined to speculate on what caused the tragedy, saying only that it was not an attack.

The canton’s chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said investigators would look into whether the bar met safety standards and had the required number of exits.

Multiple sources told AFP that the bar owners are French nationals: a couple originally from Corsica who, according to a relative, are safe, but have been unreachable since the tragedy.

Jan. 1 (UPI) — About 40 people are believed to be dead and about 100 injured — many of them severely — after a fire broke out at a New Year’s Eve celebration at a bar in Switzerland.

The bar, Le Constellation in Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps, was a popular place for tourists and young people. Many of the injured were between 16 and 26 years old. The victims are believed to be from several different countries.

Smoke began pouring out of the bar at around 1:30 a.m., witnesses said, and emergency services were called soon after. They sent 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances to take the injured to hospitals, officials said at a press conference Thursday morning. The nearest hospital had run out of space in the emergency department and surgical suites. Three specialized planes took burn victims to Zurich, which is about 90 miles away.

Le Constellation had a dance floor in its basement with a narrow stairway, which may have made it difficult for people to escape.

Officials have ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack, though they haven’t yet determined the cause of the fire.

There was an explosion during the fire, but officials have said it was from a flashover. A flashover is when all combustible materials in a room ignite at once from the heat.

Witnesses said many people struggled after coming out of the heat of the bar and into the outside cold. Victims were treated at makeshift triage centers in a nearby bar and a branch of UBS bank.

“And then it was just ambulances coming back and forth as much as possible,” Dominic Dubois, who witnessed the frantic scenes as the bodies were brought out, told The Guardian.

Doctors and counselors were sent to the area to offer psychological help for the survivors.

“Significant resources have been deployed from a forensic medicine perspective, primarily to identify the victims,” said Beatrice Pilloud, prosecutor general of the canton, at the news conference. Pilloud said that authorities were doing everything they could to get the victims’ bodies to their families.

Crans-Montana is a resort town of about 10,000 people that’s popular among wealthy Europeans. It’s in the canton of Valais in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

“What was a moment of joy turned into a tragedy in Crans-Montana last night, felt across the country and beyond,” Swiss President Guy Parmelin said on X. “The Federal Council has taken note of this with deep dismay. Its thoughts are with the victims, the injured and their families and it extends its deepest condolences.”

Parmelin postponed a scheduled New Year address because of the fire.

“While this evening should have been a time for celebration and gathering, it turned into a nightmare,” Mathias Reynard, a member of the Swiss National Council from Valais, said at the press conference.

WHEN it comes to food, there’s much more to Lincolnshire than sausages and seafood (although you should try those, too!).

This is of course home to delicious local sausage rolls (made with Lincolnshire sausages, of course) and fish and chips fresh from the coast.

But there’s more on offer – from vintage tea shops to village pubs dating back hundreds of years.

You’ll also find plenty of wallet-friendly options along the coast, as well as restaurants that welcome families with kids’ menus and even pirate-themed animations. 

We’ve chosen some of our favourite places to eat and drink that are all within easy reach of your £9.50 Holiday in Lincolnshire.

As well as our expert picks, we’ve asked Sun readers who have holidayed here and local holiday park staff for their recommendations, including their favourite chippies, pubs and coastal cafes.

Best local pub

Joanne Green, General Manager at Parkdean’s Sunnydale holiday park, recommends The New Inn in Saltfleet, which is within walking distance of the holiday park.

She said: “It’s popular with the locals. They’re a seasonal pub so they usually close over the winter.

There’s also The Axe and Cleaver in North Somercotes, which has good food that is reasonably priced.”

Tip: Make the most of The Axe and Cleaver “pie and pint night” on Thursdays (£12.95 for a pie, sides and a pint of ale or a wine).

Meanwhile, Alex Trembath, creator of the Lincoln and Beyond blog, recommends heading to Theddlethorpe village for the King’s Head Inn.

He said: “It’s a 16th-century thatched pub run by a local couple, with big portions at reasonable prices.”

Favourite brunch spot

If you’re staying near Sunnydale, Sun reader Linda McDonnell, 71, recommends GiGi, an Italian restaurant in North Somercotes, less than three miles away.

Linda, from Lincoln, said: “You will get the most amazing experience there, and it’s not overly dear.

“From the front, it’s a very unassuming little place – but when you enter it, it’s done beautifully with wooden beams, exposed bricks and a relaxed, Italian atmosphere.

“As soon as you go in, you’re greeted and taken to your table. It’s child-friendly and the food is exceptional.

It’s a very nice place to go, whether you want to go for a romantic meal or meal with a family.”

GiGi has a brunch menu (10.30am until 4pm, Thursday to Sunday) – including Italian eggs benedict (£8.90) and a gourmet cheeseburger (£13.90).

They also serve a brilliant range of pizzas (from £10.90), fresh meats and kebabs. Kids meals cost £8.95 and come with a free scoop of ice cream. 

Favourite place for a cheap eat

On the seafront at Mablethorpe, The Beck is very popular. Linda McDonnell said: “They do a carvery every day throughout the year and it’s great value, especially for kids (£3 for under-twos).

You can choose from three different sized carveries, depending on how many slices of meat you want (£8.99 for small, £9.99 for medium, £13.99 for large).

They also have lots of special offers, like two-for-one meals.”

Further down the coast in Skegness, The family-run Cosy Corner Cafe is a great value breakfast spot, with a Full English from £6.60 and kids’ breakfasts costing £4.50.

They also offer a two-for-one breakfast special (Tuesday to Friday mornings) for £11.95.

Best chippie

In Skegness, Linda McDonnell says Salts Fish & Chip Shop is the best chippie around.

She said: “Everybody’s heard of them and tried them. The queue is outside the door.”

Meanwhile Sun reader John Ellis, 72, rates The Marina Fish & Chips in Chapel St Leonards.

John, who is from Sheffield and was staying nearby at Golden Palm Resort on his most recent £9.50 Holiday, said: “It’s a great chippy. Fish and chips is no longer a cheap meal anywhere, but Marina’s is worth paying for.

“It’s better than the chippies in Skegness.”

Marina’s cod and freshly-cut chips cost £9.49. A mini fish deal (mini fish, small chips and a side) costs £6.99.  

Best for a pint on the beach

John Ellis recommends checking out the pubs on the seafront of Chapel St Leonards, like the fun Admiral Benbow Beach Bar.

He said: “It’s a bar in a boat on the beach and it has a fun atmosphere.”

The main building has previously served as everything from a public toilet to a workman’s hut and is named after the inn in the book Treasure Island.

This is also a good option for dog walkers, as it’s dog-friendly inside or you can enjoy an alfresco pint in the outdoor beach bar. 

Best quirky cafe

If you want to step back in time, Linda McDonnell  recommends Maplethorpe, saying: “It’s a nice place to sit and have a coffee and people watch.

“The town is quite small, and very quaint. It hasn’t changed a lot, and they keep it nice.

“I like The Blitz Tea Room – it’s designed like it would have been during The Blitz with taped windows and retro interior.”

The World War II theme includes walls decorated with posters and artefacts and tea served old school-style (as loose-leaf tea in a teapot with a strainer).

Food also harks back to old-fashioned British choices like stew with doorstep bread and steamed pudding and custard.

For more vintage feels, head to Lady B’s Tea Room down the road – perfect for afternoon tea or cocktails with an antique twist. 

Best place to take the kids

Alex Trembath reckons families should hot-foot it to The Trawler’s Catch, a pirate-themed fish and chip shop in Skegness.

He said: “Portions are generous and kids will love the animated fire cannons.”