What was supposed to be a celebration turned into a tragic incident as the the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland, caught fire on New Year’s Day. 40 people lost their lives while 116 sustained severe injuries. One of them was Emanuele Galeppini, an amateur golfer from Italy. Today, the DP World Tour paid tribute to him and everyone else who was affected by the mishap on January 1, 2026.

They tweeted, “This week’s Dubai Invitational is being played in remembrance of promising young golfer Emanuele Galeppini, and in memory of the 40 people who tragically lost their lives in Crans Montana on New Year’s Day.”

Galeppini was a 17-year-old golfer who was rising through the ranks in the amateur space. Notably, he was delivering consistent performances towards the end of 2025. However, like many in Crans-Montana, he too was at Le Constellation to celebrate the festivities of the New Year.

To pay tribute to him, the European Tour stars maintained a minute of silence before the beginning of the 2026 Dubai Invitational. In the video attached to the tweet, you can see the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, and others joining the tribute. The video ends with the commentators sharing a special message for Galeppini, his family, and friends.

Coming back to the incident, the passing of Galeppini and 39 other individuals led to a huge debate. And the locals are already taking preventive measures to ensure that such an incident doesn’t occur again in the future.

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The New Year’s Day incident wakes up the local authorities to take strict action

Le Constellation was a ski bar that was quite popular among the youth of Crans-Montana. Due to its affordable beverages, live music, and amazing atmosphere, the place always remained crowded. The bar also used pyrotechnics as an attraction on New Year’s Day to attract more customers. But that is what ended up causing the fire.

As reported by the BBC, the sparks from the pyrotechnics caught the sound-insulating foam padding before the place was set ablaze. The incident sparked a lot of debate within the country, and the authorities started taking strict action to prevent a repeat. Notably, some regions of Switzerland have banned the use of pyrotechnics in all indoor public venues.

Interestingly, this incident might have major implications for Switzerland’s bid for the Olympics. Crans-Montana is supposed to be the venue for the 2038 Winter Olympics in the country. But with the recent incident, the local governing bodies might tread carefully with their safety measures to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.