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

G'Hey, Big Spender...Come And Spend Some Time With Wien

Saturday night saw the 18th annual Life Ball take place in beautiful Vienna, resplendent in summer greenery and conviviality.  Visitors from around the world come to the ultra-exclusive event whose tickets are precious commodities.  Life Ball is Europe's most glamorous fundraising event, filling every corner of Vienna's enormous City Hall and welcoming dignitaries and celebrities as featured presenters; mixed in with the President of Austria and European royalty were former US President Bill Clinton representing the William J Clinton Foundation and Academy-Award winning actress Whoopi Goldberg speaking on behalf of amfAR.

Vienna City Hall, dressed for the occasion

Among the fundraiser's longest-distance travellers were Australian clients of luxury tour operator Hautes Vacances, which prepares bespoke itineraries for the discerning gay and lesbian travellers and their friends.  In addition to custom tours, Hautes Vacances offers planned itineraries for a very few select events across the globe.  Life Ball is one of them, and there is no shortage of travellers willing to flash the cash for a dip into Euroglamour.  And that is exactly what they got; the Australians, resplendent in their costumes, were among the most popular guests with international media along the red carpet.

Hautes Vacances travellers in front of the Austrian Parliament

Europe's grandest city usually hosts Life Ball in May, but this year's date was changed to coincide with the huge XVIII International AIDS Conference currently taking place in Vienna.  As Life Ball's role as a serious fundraising event for HIV/AIDS charities is undertaken with utmost commitment, it was only natural to enable conference attendees to experience Life Ball for themselves.  In association with the conference, Vienna has been hosting art exhibits and special events to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in everyday life.

A favourite place to stay for Life Ball visitors is Hotel Altstadt, who enjoy one of Vienna's most charming small hotels—small in number of rooms, but not in their size.  In fact, Altstadt's suites are positively enormous, especially the lovely Otto Suite which had a private, rooftop terrace with views over Vienna.  Regardless of which of the hotel eclectic rooms, suites, or apartments is selected, guests enjoy "the art of hospitality" in a chic and convenient location in the chic Josefstadt residential district, placing Hotel Altstadt only a short walk from the Life Ball venue at the Vienna's City Hall.

Diane von Furstenberg in her DVF Mini designed for Life Ball

More information about Life Ball can be found on the organisation's website, www.lifeball.org, and more information about gay Vienna can be found on Vienna Tourism's comprehensive website, www.vienna.info; Vienna Tourism's gay and lesbian information page is here.  Of course, the Austrian National Tourist Office is also happy to provide information about Life Ball and pre- or post-event activities around the country, which further boost revenue from LGBT travellers.  Innsbruck is a favourite destination; Tyrol's confluence of French, Italian, Austrian, and Tyrolean cultures is naturally appealing to cosmopolitan visitors, and its small-city-in-the-country ethos serves as a pleasant elixir for any celebratory overindulgences at the ball.  Those staying in Vienna can enjoy a wonderful Art Brunch the day after Life Ball under the soaring Baroque dome of the Vienna Museum of Fine Arts.

Australia's Alex Greenwich of Hautes Vacances being interviewed by German television ARD