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The Vienna Opera Ball (''Wiener Opernball'' in s for women. Each year, almost overnight, the Auditorium of the Vienna State Opera is turned into a large Ballroom . On the eve of the event, the rows of seats are removed from the Stalls , and a new floor, level with the Stage , is built. Austrian businessman Richard Lugner has attracted famous people as his guests to the ball. Among them have been Sarah Ferguson and Sophia Loren . In a joint venture, ORF and BR broadcast live from the ball for several hours each year. The Opera Ball was first held in 1936 , but was suspended during World War II . It was revived after the war; it has been held annually ever since, with the exception of 1991 , when it was cancelled due to the Persian Gulf War . Since 2001 Elisabeth Gürtler has been the chairlady (supervising organizer) of the Vienna Opera Ball. In recent years, the ''Opernballdemo'', a Left-wing Demonstration along the Ringstraße against the kind of Capitalism represented by, as the protesters see it, many of the well-to-do guests at the Opera Ball, has regularly taken place on the same night. There have been occasional outbreaks of violence. In 1995 Austrian writer Josef Haslinger published a Novel entitled '' Opernball '' in which thousands of people are killed in a Neo-Nazi Terrorist Attack taking place during that society event. The novel was the basis of a 1998 Made-for-TV Movie by Urs Egger with the same title. A similar Ball takes place in New York City {Link without Title} . SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINK |