Waiters and Waitresses Race

Sunday 1st of August at 3:30pm: , 110 professional waiters and waitresses will compete in a race against the clock. The time to beat: 10'25''85'''

If it didn’t exist, one would have to invent the Waiters and Waitresses race that always attracts a large crowd to Quai Gustave-Ador.

Some 110 waiters and waitresses in uniform will start from the Statue de la Brise at Baby-Plage. The object is to cover a distance of 1.8 km carrying a tray with three water-filled glasses and two full bottles – without spilling a drop, and without dropping anything! Participants must walk as fast as possible but are not allowed to run, under pain of disqualification. Supervisors will be posted all along the course, and timekeeping will be done by the stewards of the Course de l’Escalade.
The start will be at 3:30 pm for the first leg to Rue de la Scie, where contestants will turn back. A cluster of waitresses in neat black skirts and waiters in bow ties or neckties will sally forth onto the pavement with admirable agility and concentration to the wild applause of the crowd. The race was inaugurated by Geneva’s Société des Cafetiers et Restaurateurs 14 years ago. The first part is generally smooth going but on the return leg breath is getting short and the pace slows. It’s always a good show and a good laugh for everyone, including those disqualified for having spilled their drinks or dropped a tray. Will they beat the 2009 record? See you at Quai Gustave-Ador on Sunday 1st of August for the answer!