13 March 2023

Gery Keszler, initiator of the legendary 'Life Ball', revealed the first details about the upcoming 'Austria For Life' event, scheduled on 29 April in Vienna

Gery Keszler is internationally known for initiating the legendary 'Life Ball' in 1992 dedicated to raising awareness of HIV infection prevention and supporting the funding of AIDS treatment and cure research. Designers, couturiers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood or Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana worked together with the ball as well as celebrities from different fields like politics, music, film or fashion like Bill Clinton, Elton John, Charlize Theron or Vivienne Westwood and Naomi Campbell, who took the stage as celebrity guests to support charities and therapy research. Today, HIV is more treatable with new medications and the awareness of how to protect oneself and others is part of the common consciousness. The last Life Ball took place in 2019. Just two years later, the Gery Keszler association 'Life+' launched a new project which will be continued this year in April. The situation of large sections of society has deteriorated in recent years. The pandemic, the war in Ukraine and economic inflationary pressures are just the tip of an iceberg that is steadily growing. The gap between rich and poor has grown despite political strategies aimed at reducing the divisions in society. In response to the pandemic and the social consequences, the first campaign 'Österreich hilft Österreich' was launched in 2020 and continued in 2021 by the ORF in cooperation with aid organizations. Already in 2021, the Gery Keszler association Life+ supported the funding activities of 'Österreich hilft Österreich' and organized a Life Ball-like bombastic event under the name 'Austria For Life' on 28 May 2021 in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral (YouTube video).

The next Art For Life event was planned last year for 10 September 2022 at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna with international artists and celebrities such as Dita von Teese, who visited Vienna a few months before the show for a ride on a black Lipizzaner. It was planned that she would appear on stage as Empress Sisi (posting on Instagram). However, the event had to be postponed due to inflation and the associated increased costs, which were disproportionate to the expected donations.

Now, the organization of the 'Art for Life' charity event for 'Österreich hilft Österreich' at the Schönbrunn Palace is entering the second round. The first details were recently provided with a media release. The 90-minute multimedia event with more than 150 international artists from dance, music, theater and horses from various stud farms in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria as well as carriages from three centuries will take place on 29 April 2023. The stage performance will be broadcast live from 20:15 by the Austrian national public broadcaster ORF with signal transmission to private TV stations. The tickets for the show are available from today at austriaforlife.org.

Image: The picture showing the 'Mock up ladies carousel' was sent with the announcement of the 'Austria For Life' event on 29 April 2023 at Schloss Schönbrunn in Vienna. Photo: © Media Apparat.