Inside Europe's campiest gala, Vienna's LifeBall, with Katie Holmes and lots of drag queens:
. There was, after all, a wide, pink-hued carpet leading up the steps of historic buildings not usually associated with such pageantry, guests decked out in elaborately stylized costumes with no plume of feathers or disc of sequin spared, and the shared presence of.
Started in 1993 while HIV/AIDS was still considered a death sentence, founder Gery Keszler's charity event sought to break taboos and raise money for those affected with the disease by combining Vienna's uniquely democratic ball culture with the edge of New York's underground, LGBT-led nightlife. It's developed into a spectacle that has become a calling card of the city, and covered on television throughout Europe.
"AIDS has changed from a death sentence to being a chronic disease. The paradox of this success is that the number of allies for AIDS charity projects is decreasing both at home and abroad," Keszler said in a statement before the ball. "We achieved more than we ever dared hope. I am so eternally grateful. It is now time to bring this project to a fitting conclusion."
If it is the end, it was a glorious one. Let's run back what happened at what may be the last Life Ball ever.which shuttled American performers and guests from New York to Vienna and inevitably turned into a high-altitude nightclub, was called off, the American contingent trickled into Vienna Friday night in time for the official welcoming party at Le Méridien hotel. Mostly in one piece, and ready to party.
The main event would start a little more than 12 hours after the last guest sashayed out of Why Not, and kicked off with a decidedly more regal tone as VIPs were invited inside of City Hall for a gala dinner before the main ceremony. They were greeted by a line of young men in Spartan uniforms at the entrance, bottles of Moet, and the Italian performer Principe Maurizio, dressed as a traditional European clown and singing Frank Sinatra's "My Way," as they entered.
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