The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five or six weeks in May and June. The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna) was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the four Allies. The Wiener Festwochen is now one of the world's leading cultural festivals and it is one of the major highpoints of Vienna’s annual cultural programme. Luc Bondy, the internationally renowned director, has been responsible for the festival as its artistic director since 2002. The traditional inauguration of Wiener Festwochen, an open-air event with free admission, takes place annually in Vienna’s City Hall Square to kick off the festival. A high-level show programme will be presented against the breathtaking background of the festively illuminated Vienna City Hall and before an audience of tens of thousands of visitors. Each year, the Wiener Festwochen create or collaborate on a series of cultural events which combine the highest artistic standards with socially relevant issues and objectives. The Wiener Festwochen are not only a mirror of the city’s enthusiasm for culture but also an offer of openness towards other cultures and spheres. As an innovative and international metropolitan festival, Wiener Festwochen offers a modern and multilingual program that covers the whole range from tradition to avant-garde, with a rich variety of plays, music dramas, concerts, performances, lectures, installations, films and video shows. The calendar features about 40 productions with 175 performances and 70 concerts. Each year the festival is attracting approx.180,000 visitors.