Live on February 8th on ORF 2 and 3sat
Vienna (OTS) – Everything Waltz on ORF 2 and 3sat – a TV evening dedicated to the Ball of Balls! Up to 1.648 million viewers watched the ORF broadcast of the Vienna Opera Ball in 2023 – and this year too, the entire main evening on ORF 2 and 3sat is dedicated to the glamorous climax of the ball season on Thursday, February 8, 2024. From the arrival of the guests and their entry onto the festival stairs to the opening of the Young Women’s and Young Men’s Committee to the midnight quadrille: the TV audience will again experience all the highlights live from the Vienna State Opera from 8:15 p.m. This year’s Opera Ball TV evening will be hosted by Mirjam Weichselbraun and Andi Knoll, Teresa Vogl and, for the first time, Marion Benda. Karl Hohenlohe and Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz once again provide the pointed commentary. ORF director Heidelinde Haschek will also be responsible for the broadcast in 2024 and will present the Vienna Opera Ball to the audience in the usual atmospheric images. This year, the Vienna Opera Ball 2024 is once again supporting – in partnership with the ORF – AUSTRIA HELFT AUSTRIA, a joint initiative of Austria’s leading aid organizations in cooperation with the ORF.
Further details about the 66th Vienna Opera Ball were presented on Friday, January 12th at a press conference moderated by Andi Knoll by the director of the Vienna State Opera, Bogdan Roščić, the organizational team Susanne Athanasiadis, Birgit Reitbauer and Maryam Yeganehfar as well as ORF general director Roland Weißmann and ORF entertainment director Martin Gastinger in the presence of the presenters Teresa Vogl, Karl Hohenlohe and Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz, “Alles Opernball” presenter Lilian Klebow and the ORF broadcast manager Ines Schwandner, among others
ORF General Director Roland Weißmann: “The Opera Ball marks the highlight of the ball season not only for the ball visitors, but also for the viewers, who can be there live via ORF broadcast. An ‘ORF for everyone’ also means a Vienna Opera Ball for everyone. In excellent cooperation with the State Opera – which is once again actively supporting the AUSTRIA HELPS AUSTRIA initiative this year – and with a well-positioned team, we will once again bring the ‘Ball of Balls’ directly into the living rooms of Austrians.”
The Vienna Opera Ball 2024 on ORF and 3sat
The ball evening in the Haus am Ring opens at 8:15 p.m. with “Vienna Opera Ball 2024 – Everything Dances”. The first program item of the Opera Ball evening allows a look behind the scenes of the prestigious event. The ORF presenters welcome you from the ball locations in front of and in the State Opera, tell you what’s new this year, look back on past years and get the television audience in the mood for the evening. The program then includes “Arrival of the Guests” (9:10 p.m.), “The Opening” (9:45 p.m.) and, after “ZIB 2,” “The Festival” (11:05 p.m.).
“Alles Opernball” on February 9th at 8:15 p.m. on ORF 1
The day after the Vienna Opera Ball 2024, the ORF editorial team will report in a special broadcast about the most extravagant performances, the most beautiful, elaborate and unusual outfits and the ball whispers of the lavish night. This year, Lilian Klebow will be leading the show and the opera house for the first time. It shows how the ball guests celebrated, which celebrities danced this time and what else happened in the boxes, halls, corridors and hidden places of the State Opera. A must for all Opera Ball fans.
“Side Glances” and “Studio 2” in the spirit of the Opera Ball
The ORF society magazine “Seitenblicke” reports in several editions on ORF 2 about the numerous preparations for the Opera Ball. On February 9th, the day after the ball, the entire broadcast at 8:05 p.m. is dedicated to the highlights of the ball night. The ORF 2 early evening magazine “Studio 2” (Monday to Friday at 5:30 p.m.) and “Guten Morgen Österreich” (Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m.) also devote themselves in detail to the Vienna Opera Ball: from the general trends in ball dresses to the gowns of the stars and the dresses of this year’s debutantes and star guests at the State Opera and much more.
The Vienna Opera Ball in the ORF.at network, on Ö3 and in the programs of the ORF regional studios
The ORF.at network and ORF TELETEXT report in detail about the ball event of the year in stories. The TV reporting can be followed via live stream on the ORF-TVthek and subsequently accessed as video-on-demand on ORF ON and in the ORF-TVthek app. Hitradio Ö3 offers a view of the “Ball of Balls” in the Vienna State Opera. Ö3 reporters report from the Opera Ball, take a look behind the scenes and report on the social event the day after in the Ö3 alarm clock. The highlights of the evening and the best photos will be made available on the Ö3 homepage (oe3.ORF.at).
ORF Vienna accompanies the Viennese through the prominent ball night on February 8th. On the day of the ball, ORF Vienna reporters will report directly from the opera to inform the audience about this Vienna ball highlight. In addition, Katharina Reigersberg from the “Vienna Today” team will accompany a blind ball visitor with his personal assistant this year. The news magazine “Vienna Today” gives viewers the opportunity to experience the Vienna Opera Ball 2024 in a different way. ORF Radio Vienna also makes it possible to experience the ball of balls live. In the week before, all listeners have the opportunity to win two tickets for this special event. The ORF Vienna social media channels provide extraordinary insights into the exhilarating experience. At the center of ORF Vienna’s activities this year is the Radio Vienna Opera Ball Disco with DJ Mel Merio as a program item for all ball guests. With popular Radio Vienna hits and well-known party classics, she creates a brilliant, energetic and glamorous dance atmosphere.
The Opera Ball 2024 on ORF III – extensive focus from February 4th with documentaries, films, musical highlights and reporting from Haus am Ring
From Sunday, February 4th, ORF III will be dancing in three-four time! Until the Vienna Opera Ball, ORF III is presenting a series of documentaries about Viennese ball culture, showing numerous film classics and providing information with current reporting and interesting TV discussion sessions. It starts with an afternoon devoted to classic films about the “Ball of Balls”. “We ask for a dance” (11:55 a.m.) with Hans Moser and Paul Hörbiger, “Der Bettelstudent” (1:20 p.m.) with Waltraut Haas and Gunther Philipp, “Die Fledermaus” (3:00 p.m.) with Peter Alexander and Marika Rökk, “Kaiserball” (4:50 p.m.) with Hannelore Bollmann and Hans Moser and “Opernball” (6:30 p.m.) with Paul Hörbiger and Theo Lingen provide lively entertainment. “Experience Stage” presents “Operettas – Melodies for Millions” in the evening (8:15 p.m.). The documentary highlight of the ORF III Opera Ball program is the new production “Opernball 2024 – Alles Waltz” (8:15 p.m.) on Monday, February 5th, which provides insights into the preparations. Further documentary highlights will follow on Tuesday, February 6th, in “Erbe Österreich” with the ORF III new production in the main evening “Opernball – Austria – Land of the Orders”, “The Opera Ball Revue: Fashion from back then” (May 21st). p.m.) and “The Vienna Opera Ball – The Good Spirits” (9:55 p.m.). “Culture Today” will also report directly from the Haus am Ring for a week starting on Monday, February 5th, and will show both the preparations and the dismantling work one day after the “Ball of Balls”.
AUSTRIA HELPS AUSTRIA – an initiative by ORF and leading aid organizations
The Opera Ball – in partnership with the ORF – is once again sending a signal of solidarity this year and is supporting Austria HELPS AUSTRIA – for the second time with solidarity contributions for admission tickets and gastronomic income as well as an auction starting today in which a painting by Herbert Brandl is being auctioned Joint initiative by Austria’s leading aid organizations in cooperation with the ORF, which was launched in 2020.
With this, the ORF founded its third aid brand to raise awareness and secure help for those organizations that help locally and directly. The first campaign was launched in August 2020 in response to the Corona crisis and its social consequences, the second campaign followed in April 2021 and was implemented by the aid organizations involved in all federal states. Even in current and future domestic crises and disasters, AUSTRIA HELPS AUSTRIA will support the people in Austria with the help of donors.