On November 18th: With inclusive challenges, exciting entertainment and lots of celebrity support
Vienna (OTS) – It’s time to make an effort for a good cause this year when the “Gala for LIGHT IN THE DARK” is on ORF 2’s program on Saturday, November 18, 2023, at 8:15 p.m. live from PlusCity in Pasching near Linz. In the new gala format, people with and without disabilities from sport, media and society compete in four inclusive teams and in several challenges involving knowledge, skill and sport. The goal for the individual teams is to score as many points as possible in order to raise the highest possible donation amount for LICHT IN DUNKEL. Included are Felix Neureuther, Kristina Sprenger, Thomas Morgenstern, Fanny Stapf, Nico Langmann, Lydia Prenner-Kasper, Thomas Geierspichler and Miriam Labus.
In addition to the presentation of selected inclusion projects by Barbara Stöckl, Peter Resetarits, Eva Pölzl and Tarek Leitner, international and national music acts will once again provide musical entertainment: Florian Silbereisen, Thomas Anders, DJ Ötzi, Melissa Naschenweng, Tina Naderer, Chris Steger and Alexander Eder as well as other artists. The gala evening will be presented by Nina Kraft, Norbert Oberhauser and Andreas Onea.
The LIGHT INTO THE DARK action day on ORF
In the run-up to the big “Gala for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL”, the ORF LIGHT IN THE DARK action day is also the focus of the event – with, among other things, the “Radio OÖ Family Day for LIGHT IN THE DARK” in PlusCity. Several TV live entries on ORF 2 accompany the day, starting with “Fit with Philipp” at 9:05 a.m. There are further entries at 2:50 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. as well as in “Currently after five” and in “Federal State Today”. In a live special, the entire family day (8:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) will be streamed live via ORF-TVthek. Numerous articles on other ORF radio and TV programs as well as on ORF SPORT+ and ORF III report on the big ORF LIGHT INTO THE DUNKEL action day in PlusCity.
On November 18th, the donation telephones in the A1 donation center will be manned by celebrities until the end of the broadcast. The donation line can be reached all year round on 0800 664 2412.
Service for the visually and hearing impaired
The gala evening in aid of LICHT INS DUNKEL will be broadcast in a fully barrier-free manner: Live subtitles are available for deaf and hearing-impaired viewers on ORF TELETEXT on page 777 and on the ORF TVthek. In addition, the entire evening will be offered on ORF 2 Europe in Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS) and translated by the ÖGS interpreters Sabine Zeller and Lidija Sammer – on ORF 2 Europe (via satellite and cable), ORF 2 SD (via simpliTV) and on the ORF TV library via live stream and video-on-demand. For the blind and visually impaired audience there is a live audio commentary, which can be heard by switching to the second sound channel on the remote control and on the ORF TV library. The acoustic image description of the celebratory evening is spoken alternately by the well-known audio commentators Johannes Karner and Sebastian Aster. The accessible programs are available seven days as video-on-demand on the ORF TVthek.
LIGHT INTO THE DARK online and on ORF TELETEXT
The ORF.at network provides ongoing information about LIGHT IN THE DARK as part of its current reporting. The ORF-TVthek offers an extensive live stream and video-on-demand offering around LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL (including its own “In Focus” focus), which includes, among other things, the LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL gala and the entire program on the Holy evening as well as numerous other programs and contributions to the fundraising campaign. In addition, highlights from “50 Years of LIGHT IN THE DARK” are available in a video archive. Current stories about the campaign, program information (from page 300) and all information about donation options (page 680) are available on ORF TELETEXT.
More TV highlights in Advent and fundraising campaigns for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL
The ORF supports the relief campaign in all of its media and state studios in order to motivate as many people as possible to help. Television, radio, online and the state studios profit with numerous campaigns and productions – such as the “Celebrity Million Show for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL” on December 4th, the “LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL Music Wish Day” on November 30th, the “ORF III Auction for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL” (from November 18th) as well as the auction in “Sport on Sunday for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL” on December 10th or the “Ö1 celebrity quiz for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL”, the “Ö3 Christmas miracle” and a variety of projects in the state studios and of course the all-day broadcast on Christmas Eve – donations in the millions. Also under the banner of LICHT INS DUNKEL are the “Seitenblicke Night Tour” and the “Seitenblicke für LICHT INS DUNKEL” on December 25th and numerous contributions in the TV programs “Guten Morgen Österreich”, “Aktuell nach eins”, “Aktuell nach five”, “Studio 2”, “Bundesland today”, as well as in the ORF TVthek and in ORF SPORT + as well as in all ORF radio programs and in ORF TELETEXT.
On ORF III, Friday, December 22nd, Ani Gülgün Mayr and Peter Fässlacher will appear with a “Culture Today Special for LIGHT IN THE DARK” (7:45 p.m.). The donation amount for the “ORF III auction for LIGHT IN THE DARK” with works by well-known artists, numerous cultural packages and, for example, a VW Beetle from 1965 restored by Postbus apprentices will be announced in this special broadcast. The online auction begins on November 18th and ends on December 16th, 2023. The President of LICHT INS DUNKEL Ines Stilling will accept the check. One of the institutions that will be supported with the auction proceeds is the “School in Dialogue” and Martina Hela, who is currently housed in the Haus Döbling nursing home. The auction proceeds are intended to help them return to a self-determined life. From November 20th, the cultural packages will be presented every weekday in “Kultur Today”.
On the homepage lichtinsschwarz.ORF.at you can find all the facts about online and SMS donations and the acquisition of ORF-LICHT INS DUNKEL company partnerships. In addition to the homepage, donations can be made all year round by calling or texting the free A1 donation telephone number 0800 664 24 12 and on Facebook at ORFLichtinsDunkel. All information about donation options can also be found in the ORF TELETEXT on page 680.
LIGHT INTO THE DARK radio music wish day in all ORF state studios
November 30th on ORF will also be dedicated to LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL. On this day, the ORF regional radio stations are organizing their music wish day for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL – for the fourth time. Requests for music will be accepted in exchange for a donation to the relief campaign. Listeners can order their personal favorite song – online or by phone – and donate to a good cause at the same time. The total proceeds from the ORF music wish day of the state studios go to LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL projects in the respective federal state and to the emergency aid fund. Information about the “LIGHT INTO THE DARK Music Wish Day” in the individual state studios is available at oesterreich.ORF.at.
Ö1, Ö3 and FM4 support LICHT IN DUNKEL
On December 1st and 24th in “Guten Morgen mit Ö1” as well as on December 24th and 31st and on January 7th in “Great Titles – Strong Pieces”, Ö1 will fulfill listeners’ musical wishes in favor of this year’s Ö1 projects for LIGHT INTO THE DARK for the mental health of children and young people. On the first Sunday of Advent, the Ö1 quiz “heard.gewusst” serves a good cause. Actor and musician Manuel Rubey, the cabaret artist and this year’s “Salzburger Stier” award winner Malarina, the actress Petra Morzé and the music producer Thomas Rabitsch are not playing against each other, but with each other in the ORF RadioKulturhaus. From November 24th to December 23rd there will again be the “Ö1 Wish Stand” at the Art Advent Karlsplatz craft market, where donations can be made for LICHT IN DUNKEL. Furthermore, Ö1 is dedicating numerous programs to this year’s LIGHT IN DUNKEL campaign.
The Ö3 Christmas miracle: The most beautiful countdown to the most beautiful festival of the year – this year for the tenth time! From December 19th to 24th, Ö3 will be moving the Ö3 Christmas miracle back into the glass wishing hut and – in keeping with the anniversary – this year it will be in Bad Ischl, the European Capital of Culture 2024. The Ö3 Christmas miracle from the Bad Ischl spa park in the Salzkammergut is basically in the middle of Austria, audible and visible to the whole of Austria. Robert Kratky, Gabi Hiller and Andi Knoll fulfill music wishes for 120 hours non-stop in return for donations. Every song becomes a donation for the “LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL emergency aid fund” – and thus for families in emergency situations in Austria. And at the beginning of November, the Ö3 lucky bag started a new round: When cell phones that are no longer needed are taken out of the drawer and put into the Ö3 lucky bag, then a miracle begins with a double effect – for the environment and families in emergency situations. Broken devices can be recycled and those that still work can be used again. With the proceeds from this utilization, the LICHT INS DUNKEL and Caritas emergency aid funds help families in need in Austria every day. Old cell phones can, for example, heat a cold apartment, ensure a full refrigerator or prevent eviction.
FM4 is supporting people suffering from ME/CFS as part of LIGHT IN THE DARK this year. Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, the number of people affected by this most severe form of post-Covid has increased significantly. ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) is a neuroimmunological multisystem disease that, depending on its severity, can lead to severe physical limitations, loss of ability to work and the need for care. Tens of thousands of people in Austria are affected by this. There is a lack of widespread expertise in the healthcare system to recognize and properly treat the disease. This leads to misdiagnoses, incorrect therapies and inadequate coverage of treatment costs by health insurance companies. The money is collected for the support fund of the Austrian Society for ME/CFS for those affected. This provides aids such as wheelchairs, nursing beds or walkers and helps cover legal and social advice costs.
LIGHT INTO THE DARK – on ORF since 1973
Launched in 1973 by the Lower Austrian ORF regional director Kurt Bergmann as an aid campaign for the disabled village of Sollenau, LICHT INS DUNKEL supports more than 400 disabled and social assistance projects throughout Austria every year and supported around 5,800 families with more than 16,000 in the 50th anniversary year 2022/2023 children through the LIGHT IN THE DARK emergency aid fund.
In 2019/20, LICHT INS DUNKEL received a successful refresh under the new ORF manager Pius Strobl as part of a reloading of the brand with Barbara Stöckl and Peter Resetarits as new faces, new program concepts, but also careful modernization and digitalization. The ORF, as LICHT INS DUNKEL’s media platform, supports the relief campaign in all of its media and state studios and reports on the living conditions of people with disabilities on all of its channels throughout the year. The total donation volume of the campaign since 1973 is more than 400 million euros.