By Rob Hyde Madame Tussauds Vienna is organising a life-size wax sculpture of fur boot-loving, golden-locked Austrian folk singer, Hansi Hinterseer. The singer and former Austrian skier, famous for his dyed blonde hair, friendly smile, and hits such as “Heut ist dein Tag” and “Ich denk an Dich”, is to appear next year in the […]
Vienna’s Jazz Fest starts today with Bobby McFerrin, best known for his song “Don’t worry, be happy”. The three week festival will take place at various locations and feature artists such as Paolo Conte at the Stadthalle on June, 24 and Bryan Ferry in the Staatsoper from July. Soul legends Charles Bradley and Bobby Womack […]
The preparations for the biggest Austrian Folk Festival “Wiesn-Fest”, which will take place for the third time on 19 September 2013 in Vienna Prater, are underway. Women from 18 to 45 can apply for the Miss Wiesn-Fest competition. Last year, 37-year-old Martina from Vienna won the First Miss Wiesn-Fest contest against seven candidates. She describes […]
Nicole Kidman, who was visiting Vienna as a guest of the producer of luxury watches, praised the city in a press conference. She loves the “wonderful classical music” and was reminded of private visits ten years ago. It has not been Nicole Kidman’s first visit to Vienna. At a press conference, which was called in […]
Having booked over 90 shows this year, the band Worldly Savages are embarking upon their third European tour where they will stop off in Vienna for a night of “contagious folk punk energy”. The group who describe themselves as “Contagious Folk-Punk Energy with Ethno Music Spiciness” will perform at the city’s music venue Reigen on […]
US election news takes second place in Austria today after the shock revelation that the country’s most loved folk music stars have for decades not really been performing the music at all – and have been using stand ins. Folk music involving accordions, various brass wind instruments, lots of yodelling and lederhosen is an art […]
The world’s most famous dead composers like Beethoven and Schubert are to be brought back to life by QR headstones that will play their works to passers by. Officials at Vienna’s Central Cemetery in Austria are to place QR – or Quick Response – codes on the musicians’ tombstones so anyone with a smart-phone can […]
Austria’s London 2012 hopeful, gymnast Caroline Weber, is hoping Radetzky’s famous march will spur her on to Olympic gold. The 26-year-old rhythmic gymnast, who comes from Vorarlberg, has revealed that she hopes the powerful music together with a traditional Dirndl outfit will help win over British audiences. Speaking about her second appearance in the Olympics […]
TV consumers in Austria must pay higher taxes from Friday. The ORF licence fee increases by seven per cent as of 1 June. The rise was agreed on last November when ORF general director Alexander Wrabetz justified it as “moderate”. Political decision-makers and telecommunications regulation authority KommAustria gave the go-ahead to the disputed tax hike. […]
The Vienna Oktoberfest which was last year hailed as a resounding success is set to take place again this year – and under new management. Claudia Wiesner, 43, is taking over the “Wiener Wiesn Fest” at the Prater which attracted 150,000 visitors from both Austria and abroad last year. The Wiesn is the name for […]