VIENNA (AP) – Vienna’s central City Hall Square was transformed Saturday into a mythical world of pagan rites and fantastic spectacle as the city hosted its biggest annual party of the year.
The occasion, Europe’s biggest charity event, was serious: raising money for AIDS and HIV research. But as in previous years, the 23rd Life Ball was also a free-for all gala with an emphasis on diversity.
This year’s theme revolved around the ancient celebration of spring as the giver of life, and organizers pulled out all the stops. The normally somber neo-Gothic City hall was turned into a structure glowing with light, and its square a huge stage of blazing fire, dance, song – and of music ranging from Beethoven and Stravinsky to Trevor Jackson singing “Love Child.”
Tens of thousands of spectators pushed against barriers to ogle paying guests in formal dress rubbing shoulders with celebrities, party-goers dressed in little more than body paint and cross-dressers in wild costumes.
Top tickets go for 750 euros ($850) – a price that entitles holders to an all-night party inside the ornate City Hall chambers, complete with champagne and tantalizing delicacies.