Curtain falls on Vienna Aids ball after 26 years

VIENNA: One of the world’s biggest Aids charity events, Vienna’s Life Ball, will be held for the last time in June, the organiser said on Friday.

Gery Keszler said the progress achieved in fighting Aids over the 26 years since the ball’s inception meant it had become harder to raise funds to hold the event. "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.

Launched by former make-up artist Keszler, among others, and hosted in the prestigious surroundings of Vienna’s Town Hall, the ball has raised around 30 million euros for anti-Aids causes within Austria and abroad, according to organisers.