Nearly a million scantily-clad ravers thronged the streets of Switzerland's largest city on Saturday, dancing in sweltering heat to the heavy beat of the summer's biggest techno-music street party.

The Street Parade slogan "Let the sun shine" was borne out with temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).

Despite crushing heat, organisers said the parade drew some 900,000 revellers, defying Switzerland's image as a conservative nation and snatching the party crown from Berlin's Love Parade which counted around half a million techno fans in July.

Organisers put up makeshift showers in the centre of Zurich and many ravers took a refreshing dive in the lake.

The sweet smell of marijuana hung in the air as scores of men and women in bright-coloured clothes danced to electronic music on crammed "Love Mobiles", spraying water on the crowds.

For Markus Fleischli, 26, wearing a glittering home-made Egyptian costume, Street Parade day is the best day of the year.

"For me this day is like a wedding for a woman. In September I already look forward to next year," he said, his eyes hidden behind reflecting sunglasses. This was his sixth Street Parade.

A "sunflower family" -- Caroline, Gerry and little Valentina Rosamila -- were an attraction in their own right, as people sought to have their picture taken with the costumed trio.

"Every year my husband comes up with a different idea," said the 30-year old mother of baby Valentina, who was sleeping peacefully in her push-chair despite the distant thump of music.

"We do pay attention and stay away from the noise," said Caroline, who was covered in yellow body paint and large cotton sunflower petals.

The heat did not seem to bother the ravers, many of whom remembered the rain and cold of last year's Street Parade.

"So far the heat has not had any major impact," a police spokesman said. Around 300 people were treated for minor injuries and heat-related problems, he said.

The fire brigade had erected large water sprinklers and the organisers distributed free sunblock.

The Street Parade, held in Zurich every year since 1991, draws around half its crowd from abroad and ends in hundreds of rave parties that continue until dawn

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