It is a special year of the Viennese opera ball when more than 5000 people roll over the freshly ground parquet of the State Opera on Thursday evening. For the first time, guests have to do without the opera ball legend Richard Lugner, who died in 2024 at the age of 91.
The Austrian building contractor gave the ball glamor for years and has mostly appeared with Hollywood stars at his side since 1992 – including Melanie Griffith (67), Sophia Loren (90) or Jane Fonda (87). The companions had horrendous amounts of money paid for. In 2014, for example, Kim Kardashian (44) conceded 250,000 euros to sit on Lugner’s side for one evening. For his last guest, Priscilla Presley (79), “Mortel” is said to have paid 100,000 euros.
The Vienna Tourism Association calls the ball the “Highlight of the Vienna Ball season”, which includes more than 450 balls. The Vienna Opera Ball has now become a all -year business: in addition to the 5000 guests, millions of people pursue the event on television – both in Germany and internationally.
Logs for 30,000 euros to the members of the “Freundeskreis”
Anyone who takes a look at the last annual report of the Vienna State Opera recognizes how lucrative the ball is for the host. With the festive event, the Vienna State Opera generates income of 4.6 million euros. The expenses, on the other hand, are 3.5 million euros.
The organizational management of the Vienna Opera Ball is located with Susanne Athanasiadis. Together with all departments of the house such as technology, building management, production or map sales, but of course especially with the artistic departments, she and her team ensure planning, implementing and staging the ball.
Athanasiadis has everything in view and knows exactly who gets which lodge. The ranked lodges and premium stage lodges at the opera ball are awarded to the highly paying members in the “official circle of friends” with a right of first refusal, she tells the manager magazine. That is 30,000 euros as a donator or 10,000 euros as a “benefit”.
For normal mortals, the card for the ball costs around 400 euros per person. If you want to treat yourself to a simple stage lodge for six people, you pay 15,000 euros. “Traditionally, it is not saved on the ball and the tickets are usually sold out long in advance,” says Athanasiadis.
The guest list: from Porsche to Investmentpunk
The manager knows exactly who appears to the ball and who is not. While political and high-social celebrities like to make your visit public, prominent assets behave somewhat more covered. “They usually do not announce the ball in advance,” says Athanasiadis.
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Well -known publisher: Wolfgang Rosam with Ms. Angelika Rosam
Photo: Skata/ Imago
If you take a look at your lodge bookings, however, some well -known names appear. This will be the falstaffer Wolfgang Rosam (67) on site. The magazine for wine, culinary and travel originally native to Austria appears in Germany Since 2010, also in the Switzerland and Italy there is an independent edition. Falstaff group sales of around 44 million euros are expected to double in the next five years. Rosam is currently expanding to ten other countries.
In addition to the publisher, Gerald Hörhan (49) should also appear among assets, investor and founder of the financial education platform Investmentpunk. According to Hörhan, Hörhan has more than 200 rented properties and lives from its rental income – as well as seminars and books on investment opportunities on the market. Research by “Forbes” show that its real estate portfolio is around 55 million euros.
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Party: the boss of Warner Media International, Gerhard Zeiler, appears to the opera ball, here with his wife Alexandra
Photo: Franz Neumayr/ Picture Alliance/ pictureDesk.com
Another prominent name on the box list is Gerhard Zeiler (69). After nine years as CEO of the RTL Group, he moved to Warner Media in 2012 and is now as President of Warner Media International for the business of the three group areas Warner Bros, HBO and Turner outside of the USA responsible.
And also Veronika Piëch from the Porsche-Ynasty is on the guest list. Until five years ago, she was married to the Porsche heir Hans Michel Piëch (83).
According to the organizational director Athanasiadis, there were further lodge bookings from well -known bank managers from Raiffeisenbank, the Unicredit and the Austrian National Bank. Managers are also expected from the Economic Chambers Austria and Vienna, Vienna Airport, the Casinos Austria, Interspot Film and Mounties Credit Austria. And according to the organizer, the German Chamber of Commerce has also acquired a lodge.
190 million euros in sales in the ball season
Business in three -quarter time: The Vienna Chamber of Commerce has published figures on the economic importance of the Vienna ball season. In the 2024/25 season, around 520,000 visitors and sales of around 190 million euros are expected. In addition, the ball guests are getting younger and more international.
“The ball season is becoming increasingly important as a factor for Vienna’s economy and also as a tourism factor because it increasingly attracts international guests,” explains Markus Grießler, chairman of the tourism and leisure industry division in the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. In this way, the Destination Vienna is strengthened in the traditionally weaker tourism months in January and February.
8.40 p.m.: Admission of the ball guests
10:00 p.m.: Opera ball opening (approx. 50 minutes):- Fanfare, Austrian Federal Hymn, European Hymn- Entry of the Young Damer and Young Lord Committees- Artistic performances of the Vienna State Opera Waltz: On the beautiful Blue Donau
Midnight: midnight quadrille
At 2.00 and at 4.00 a.m.: Quadrille
5:00 a.m. end of the opera ball
The ballroom has airport prices for the guests on site. Anyone who approves a glass of sparkling wine must pay 21 euros, 39 euros for a glass champagne. A small beer costs 14.50 euros. A 0.33-liter bottle of mineral water costs just under 10 euros. A few sausages (strings) are available for 16 euros.
Through the introduction of the “Solidarity contribution” 2023- a surcharge for all card and catering revenues and the auction of a work by the artist Herbert Brandl- almost one million euros for the aid organization “Austria helps Austria” in the past two years. The contribution is to be obtained again this year. For this, a work by Franz Grabmayr, a well -known Austrian painter, is auctioned.
Costs difficult to quantify – four game -free days
It is more difficult with the costs: the card revenue is clearly shown. To a large extent, the income from the membership fees should cover the game operations of the new “Nest” venue, an opera house primarily for children and adolescents. The cost of the “children’s magic flute”, which is listed twice on the following day of the opera ball, are also covered from the opera ball. 7000 children from all over Austria can follow the performance free of charge.
However, the Vienna State Opera cannot quantify the exact costs for the ball. “Due to the opera ball, there are 4 days on which no idea is played,” said Athanasiadis. How much money escapes the Viennese opera company through these 4 game -free days cannot be clearly determined, since this will have it off, which idea would be on the game plan instead. “So how complex the production would be, which international guests would sing with which fees and so on,” she says.
Since the team that organizes the ball is also responsible for events, press, building and technology during the year, no direct costs could be assigned here either. They work throughout the personnel. The wages are 79 million euros throughout the year. With a total sales of the State Opera of 69 million euros.
In addition, sponsorship contracts are important that include both the opera ball and ongoing operation. “It is not entirely clear whether this would come about 1: 1 in full, if the opera ball did not exist,” says Athanasiadis.
Strict dress code for “Alles Waltz”
This year the young women and young men committee are made up of a total of 160 pairs of debutants, which come from 15 different countries. At the beginning of the opening, they ceremoniously move into the ballroom. Until the debutants occur, so -called “cord rinders” ensure that the dance floor remains unaffected.
The opening dance traditionally ends with the “Danube Walzer”, followed by the joint exclamation of all artists from the State Opera: “All waltz!”. This year’s music program and the ballet performance are a tribute to Johann Strauss II’s 200th birthday.
The men have to wear fracks with a fly at the Vienna Opera Ball, a simple suit is not permitted. A wristwatch is also not welcome, a pocket watch is better. Women can wear jewelry watches, but have to appear in a ball gown whose cleavage must not be too deep.
For the debutants with their floor -length white clothes and long gloves, stricter rules apply. They stand on the edge of the dance floor for almost an hour before they have their big appearance at 10:45 p.m. to the sounds of the “fan polonaise”. They enter the dance floor in sync, bow to the lodge of the Federal President and perform the opening choreography to a polka.
Four days of emergency
For the opera, the ball means four days of emergency, while for the debutants the preparations will begin half a year in advance. Interested dancers have to apply to the State Opera, restrictions are officially only available in old age. Nevertheless, the elites remain intended: participation is associated with hundreds to thousands of euros costs for committees, clothing and samples.
The debutants have been wearing small jewelry crowns from Swarovski crystals since the 1950s. The first model from 1956 consisted of tulle and sequins, while later versions of crystals and semi -precious stones were manufactured. Last year, 233 crystals were used in 20 different cuts. Another indication of how much more expensive the ball will be every year.
More on the subject
The Viennese ball culture has a long tradition that goes back to the time of the Vienna Congress from 1814 to 1815 when the waltz became popular for the first time. Originally, the ball season only extended from the beginning of the year to mid -March. But they were also politically important because they were important for the exchange and maintenance of relationships between the European farms.
Aristocrats and diplomats took the opportunity to strengthen and establish existing alliances, which gave the balls an important role in the political landscape throughout Europe in the 18th century. Perhaps it is a good sign if the number of international visitors – including from the USA – increases from year to year.