Hautes Vacances travellers on their way to Life Ball

Life Ball backstage hairstylist

Life Ball angels

Life Ball costumes

Life Ball stage

Life Ball 2012, Fighting The Flames Of Ignorance

Patricia Field being interviewed at Life Ball 2009

Top models Travis Hanson, Markus Zierke, Derek Keeton, and Arthur Sales make Life Ball even more beautiful

Vienna's City Hall hosts Life Ball every year.

With immense support for Life Ball at every level of government, the Federal Parliament of Austria has been the venue for amfAR's gala ball.

While Sydney gears up for the newly degayified Sydney Mardi Gras, the biggest tourism revenue generator on its annual calendar of events, there are plans in the making for another big party on the other side of the world.  In Vienna—famous for genteel waltzes and passionate opera, less so for its avant-garde art and contemporary culture—a committee has already been at work for months preparing for Europe's biggest and most glamorous charity event, Life Ball, this year taking place on Saturday 19 May.  While the Sydney Mardi Gras of 2012 has eliminated any remaining social significance it had as a spotlight on gay and lesbian issues in favour of mainstreaming itself for the masses, Life Ball takes a different approach, keeping true to itself without sacrificing its principal reason for existence, i.e., serving as a fundraising event that helps provide millions of dollars in funding for myriad international organisations working in the fight against HIV and AIDS, perhaps now flying under the radar in Western countries with advanced medicines available but still a threat to the health and livelihoods of millions throughout the world who don't...and not every so-called advanced country has advanced policies with regard to HIV and AIDS.  Thirty years after its first diagnosis, AIDS is still, unfortunately, a subject shyly discussed in public.  Not at Life Ball.  

There is nothing mainstream about Life Ball; on the contrary, Vienna's night of nights is an extraordinary experience not to be missed, a special event that lights up the Viennese social scene.  That guests are having the time of their lives in the company of the famous celebrities invited each year as the voice of amfAR—Janet Jackson, Brooke Shields, Sharon Stone, Eva Longoria, Ivana Trump, and perennial presenter Bill Clinton, to name a few—is merely the means to an end.  Life Ball takes partying to a higher level by raising both funds and the profile of a variety of charitable organisations.  In typically Austrian fashion, Life Ball is very transparent about its activities and funding; visit the Life Ball page on international projects it has assisted to have an idea about the extent and effect one party in one city can have all over the world.

The main event at Life Ball is the fashion parade featuring the work of one designer each year; past luminaries selected have been Thierry Mugler, Jean-Paul Gautier, Gianfranco Ferrè, and Patricia Field.  Vienna is a city where dressing well is part of life, so it comes as no surprise that Life Ball, the ultimate costume ball, sees some astonishing efforts in the wardrobe department.  From elaborate to outlandish, sometimes both, the sartorial creations at Life Ball are masterpieces of creativity and imagination that complement the grand venue, Vienna's enormous City Hall, where the entire building is taken over for the event, with salons, ballrooms, and corridors alike themselves costumed in their best attire for the night's festivities.

Travellers interested in attending Life Ball—and agents interested in knowing more about it—have the services of deluxe gay tour operator Hautes Vacances at their disposal.  Hautes Vacances organises every detail for travellers, from the air travel to accommodation to the costumes for the Ball.  With both Life Ball and Hautes Vacances enjoying a loyal following, the company has much experience in arranging the details and leaving the fun to its clients.  Check out its Life Ball page and well as Life Ball's own website at lifeball.org and increase your understanding of how well a party can be an instrumental experience for a higher cause.