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Waltzing football legends to grace Vienna's Opera Ball
2008-01-31
Vienna's glitziest event of the year, the Opera Ball, kicks off Thursday evening with football legends trading the pitch for the dance floor ahead of this summer's Euro 2008. The highlight of the social calendar, the Opera Ball attracts the mighty and the powerful every year for an evening of waltzing and beautiful ball gowns. German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, former Swiss international Stephane Chapuisat and the manager of reigning European champions Greece Otto Rehhagel are all expected to attend, as Austria prepares to host the European football championships with Switzerland in June. The European trophy will also be prominently displayed at the top of the main staircase, leading into the sumptuous ball room decorated with footballs made of pink roses. Other prominent guests include US strip star and ex-wife of shock-rocker Marilyn Manson, Dita von Teese, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, Russian-born soprano Anna Netrebko as well as human rights activist and former wife of the Rolling Stones' lead singer Bianca Jagger, alongside top Austrian politicians and business notables. With tickets going for 230 euros (338 dollars) and private boxes costing a mere 17,000 euros, the Opera Ball -- which is nevertheless sold out -- is an expensive affair, bringing in 1.1 million euros in revenue last year. Star tenor Jose Carreras will open the show, which will be broadcast live on Austrian television ORF, followed by a so-called "Footballet" performed by the Vienna Opera ballet. Debutantes will then take to the floor with their partners before calling the other guests to join them with the magical words "Alles Walzer!" Ball guests with a little stamina -- and well broken-in shoes -- may then push on until the wee hours of the morning. And not even a broken heel or lost button may stand in their way: a shoemaker and several seamstresses will be on hand to clean champagne stains and mend ripped hemlines throughout the night.
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