The Rosenball, at Vienna‘s Auersperg Palace, was the end of the rainbow this week. This wild and carefree disco party is flamboyant alternative to the more conservative Opera Ball, taking place at the historic Opera House.
The popular Rosenball celebrated its 20th anniversary, and I was there to give GayCities users a glimpse of the action. I checked in to the The Levante Parliament Hotel to start work on the upcoming GayCities Vienna guide and brought my camera for a sneak peek into Vienna’s exciting party scene.
I discovered all sorts of elaborate, outrageous and sensual costumes. They were all over the map: glitter queens, a Dolly Parton-inspired drag queen sipping gin and tonic, a Darth Vader climbing the palace steps in high heels, and hunky boys shaking their ballroom schnitzel in skin tight lederhosen. Things heated up when Rosenball hostess Miss Candy took the stage with her Heavenly Creatures, followed by an electric performance by rising pop star Joy Malcolm.
The night continued until the sun came up and I encountered not only Miss Candy herself but characters that seemed to exist only at Vienna’s Rosenball, a yearly event to shortlist for your 2012 gay calendar.
Stay tuned this spring for the GayCities guide to Vienna
Thanks to The Vienna Tourism Board
