Hong Kong and global film icon Jackie Chan got a rapturous reception at the 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland on Saturday evening as he was honored with the Pardo alla Carriera, or Career Leopard award, on the Swiss town’s Piazza Grande square.

“Buona sera,” Chan said in showing off his Italian skills with a wave the second he hit the stage. When he received the award, he pointed out that it was “very, very heavy.”

He then said: “[I am] just so happy and so honored to be here.” He continued with a thank you to Locarno and the crowd “for giving me this sweet award” and thanked all directors and stars around the world who have “made me look good.” And he particularly thanked the Jackie Chan fans around the globe, noting: “Because of you, I am standing here.”

Chan recalled how his father once asked him if he would still be able to fight at age 60. ”I am 71. I still can fight,” the star said to the delight of the crowd. “Also, this year I’m in the film industry for 64 years.”

Before posing for photos on stage, Chan closed with a wish for a world united and the words: “Love and peace. Love you all! Ti amo!” He added kissing sounds.

Even minutes after the ceremony, fans could still be heard screaming “Jackie!” in the areas surrounding the Piazza Grande.

Even before the superstar showed up on the stage of the huge central square in Locarno, fans were seen wearing Jackie Chan T-shirts and holding signs saying “I Love Jackie Chan.” When the big screen at one point showed Chan wearing a short-sleeved shirt taking pictures on a balcony overlooking the square, the crowd started cheering and applauding in delight.

When the screen showed the first images of Chan stepping onto the red carpet in different garb and holding two stuffed animal pandas, the crowd’s excitement kicked into an even higher gear. One group of fans wearing matching red Jackie Chan T-shirts even started a “Jackie! Jackie!” chant.

On the red carpet, Chan also treated his fans to waves, big smiles, a kiss for a camera, and even a martial arts stance. Before he hit the stage, a sizzle reel showcased some of Chan’s signature martial arts, stunt, and comedy skills.

Locarno attendees and locals alike had already been buzzing about Chan sightings the day before, with reports of many people snapping photos of the star via their phones. As part of a tribute to his career, Chan also came to Locarno to introduce his films Project A (1983) and Police Story (1985), on both of which he worked as star and director.

“As a Hong Kong cinema fan — I’ve written three books on Hong Kong — Jackie Chan is a dream come true,” Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro recently told THR.

Locarno organizers lauded Chan as an “Asian megastar, master filmmaker, and Hollywood mainstay beloved for action films that bridged the gap between East and West,” adding that he has “for almost 60 years been one of the world’s most recognizable faces.”

Added Nazzaro: “Director, producer, actor, screenwriter, choreographer, singer, athlete, and daredevil stuntman, Jackie Chan is both a key figure in contemporary Asian cinema and one whose influence has rewritten the rules of Hollywood cinema. From his years at the China Drama Academy under Master Yu Jim-Yuen, working at a very young age as a stuntman in King Hu’s masterpiece A Touch of Zen, Chan has continually reinvented martial arts cinema and much beyond it.”

The Pardo alla Carriera is handed out with the support of Ascona-Locarno Tourism, the destination partner of the Locarno festival. 

Previous honorees include Francesco Rosi, Bruno Ganz, Claudia Cardinale, Johnnie To, Harry Belafonte, Mario Adorf, Jane Birkin, Costa-Gavras, Tsai Ming-liang, and, last year, Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan.