Life Ball

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Vienna's neo-gothic City Hall, the venue of Life Ball

Gery Keszler

Lilo Wanders (middle) with two members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at Life Ball 2004

Life Ball is Europe's largest AIDS charity event. Begun in 1993, it takes place annually at the city hall in Vienna, Austria. The event is organized by Gery Keszler.

Life Ball consists of two parts: a grand opening ceremony including a fashion show performed on a giant catwalk at Rathausplatz, the square in front of the city hall, which is free for everyone, and a fancy dress party inside the city hall hosted by Vienna's mayor, Michael Häupl, for which a limited number of tickets (c. 4,000) is available.

Already in its first year, donations exceeded € 809,000; in 2005, they peaked at € 1,017,600. Part of the money goes to the Elton John AIDS Foundation; Sir Elton himself is a regular guest at the ball.

At Life Ball 2006, prominent guests included Sharon Stone (in her capacity as chairwoman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research), Catherine Deneuve, Naomi Campbell, Anastacia, and Nina Hagen.

Each year the fashion show highlights the work of a well-known designer, with professional models as well as celebrities on the catwalk. In the past, the latter group has included Til Schweiger, Kylie Minogue, Cyndi Lauper, and Dolly Buster.

Fashion designers since the inception of Life Ball: