Winged baby with an oversized head and dance troupe in their underwear moved to the sound of Alpine horns

Orchestrated by German director Volker Hesse, performance included several bizarre outfits and re-enactments


The Swiss have put on one of the most bizarre opening ceremonies in history to mark the completion of the world's longest tunnel.

Famed for their trains, organisers roped in more than 600 dancers, acrobats and dramatic actors and even composed the new route's very own theme tune as they pulled out all the stops for Wednesday's inauguration at the tunnel's northern portal in Erstfeld.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Francois Hollande of France and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi all came to southern Switzerland for an upbeat, glitzy celebration featuring musical bands and dancers.

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Flying baby: The Swiss have put on one of the most bizarre opening ceremonies in history to mark the completion of the world's longest tunnel

Happy to be involved: A dance troupe performed during the ceremony in just their underwear. The entire out-there piece was orchestrated by German director Volker Hesse

Colourful: Famed for their trains, organisers roped in more than 600 dancers, acrobats and dramatic actors and even composed the new route's very own theme tune as they pulled out all the stops for Wednesday's inauguration at the tunnel's northern portal in Erstfeld

Goat man: One dancer performs as a mountain goat in a nod to the location of the tunnel, which travels underneath the Alps

Under purple neon lights, performers dressed in orange miners' suits and protective helmets danced atop a moving rail car to the rhythm of pick-axes and construction machinery.

Trapeze artists hung from chains or ropes, a band blared out a thumping military march and helicopters buzzed overhead as the celebration strived to both thrill and offer a show of European solidarity.

It also featured a baby with feathered white wings and oversized head and a man dancing with a bird's nest on his head. Music was provided by Alpine horn players, an army band and live choirs

Welcome: Under purple neon lights, performers dressed in orange miners' suits and protective helmets danced atop a moving rail car to the rhythm of pick-axes and construction machinery

Wild: Trapeze artists hung from chains or ropes, a band blared out a thumping military march and helicopters buzzed overhead as the celebration strived to both thrill and offer a show of European solidarity

Entertainment: Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Francois Hollande of France and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi all came to southern Switzerland for an upbeat, glitzy celebration featuring musical bands and dancers

Obvious: According to commentators, the performance explored the myths of the massif, the modernity of the book and the North-South reconciliation were its central themes

A dance troupe also performed in just their underwear before fireworks were sent blasting into the sky outside the venue.

The out-there event was in honour of the world's longest rail tunnel, running for 35 miles under the Swiss Alps, and was put together by German director Volker Hesse.

According to commentators, the performance explored the myths of the massif, the modernity of the book and the North-South reconciliation were its central themes.

Weird: It also featured a baby with feathered white wings and oversized head and a man dancing with a bird's nest on his head. Music was provided by Alpine horn players, an army band and live choirs

Deep: The out-there event was in honour of the world's longest rail tunnel, running for 35 miles under the Swiss Alps, and was the work of director Volker Hesse

Dangerous: One trapeze artist hangs from the roof of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in one of the more daring parts of today's ceremony

The tunnel has come in under its £8.5billion and its creation will mean a million fewer trucks on the roads.

High-speed trains will whisk passengers and cargo in 17 minutes through a mountain range that divides northern and southern Europe between Erstfeld in the Swiss canton of Uri, to Bodio in the Ticino canton.

As the first train used the tunnel today, experts described the completion of the 17-year construction project as a 'masterpiece of timing, cost and policy'.

Baited breath: As the first train used the tunnel today, experts described the completion of the 17-year construction project as a 'masterpiece of timing, cost and policy'. The opening ceremony did raise a few eyebrows though

Artistic: The goat-man yells on the stage while surrounded as dancers dressed up as straw bales and surrounded by men and women in veils

Welcome: The bizarre opening ceremony featured men dressed as mountain sheep and half-naked trapeze artists wearing wings

Finally twigged: One of the even more bizarre ensembles to feature in the performance piece was this man's bird nest headwear

Fittingly, the first ones to travel the tunnel at the official opening will be 500 lucky winners plus guests from the 130,000 who entered a ticket lottery for the inaugural trip.

Swiss forces took no chances with security for this afternoon's funky inauguration.

Almost 2,000 additional Swiss troops were called, helicopters buzzed overhead and air space restrictions were put over the tunnel area.

When it officially opens, the Gotthard will surpass Japan's 33.4-mile Seikan tunnel as the world's longest train tunnel. The 31.4-mile Channel Tunnel that links England and France will be bumped into third place.

Explosive entrance: A fireworks display lit up the grey skies as the first train to travel through the tunnel emerged this afternoon

Spectacular: The world's longest tunnel officially opened on Wednesday, with the trailblazing rail passage under the Swiss Alps aiming to ease transit through the heart of Europe

Massive: The western tube of the Gotthard tunnel is pictured near Amsteg, Switzerland on the day of its opening. The project took 17 years to complete and cost £8.5billion

The tunnel along Europe's main rail line that connects the ports of Rotterdam in the north to Genoa in the south snakes through the mountains as much as 1.5 miles below daylight and through rock as hot as 46 degrees Celsius (114.8°F).

Engineers had to dig and blast through 73 kinds of rock as hard as granite and as soft as sugar in creating it - a process that lead to the deaths of nine construction workers.

According to the Swiss rail service, it took 43,800 hours of non-stop work by 125 labourers rotating in three shifts to lay the tunnel's slab track.

Guide: The construction consists of two single-track tunnels connecting Erstfeld with Bodio and is part of the AlpTransit project

Route: High-speed trains will whisk passengers and cargo in 17 minutes through a mountain range that divides northern and southern Europe between Erstfeld in the Swiss canton of Uri, to Bodio in the Ticino canton