At the Akademikerball in Vienna, National Council President Walter Rosenkranz and Vienna's state party leader Dominik Nepp are expected to attend as prominent figures.

Prominent Figures and Protests at the Vienna Akademikerball 2025

Starting at 5 PM, the Vienna Ring Road will be closed to traffic between Operngasse and Wipplingerstraße. Short-term temporary traffic closures are also possible. The police recommend avoiding the inner-city area extensively. In total, several hundred police officers will be deployed.

The platform "Offensive against the Right" has once again called for a protest march against the fraternity ball starting at 5 PM - from Universitätsring via Hohen Markt to Stephansplatz. In the past, the event has been repeatedly accompanied by sometimes intense protests. Particularly in 2014, there were numerous instances of property damage and a significant number of injured demonstrators and police officers. However, in the years that followed, the situation calmed down significantly.

Under the motto "Fire and Flame to the Patriarchy: Fight Sexism in Hofburg and State," hundreds of opponents of the FPÖ-Akademikerball gathered at the University of Vienna on Friday afternoon. From there, the demonstrators started their protest march over the Ring to Stephansplatz. The police are deployed with several hundred officers.

"The demonstration this year naturally focuses on the fight against sexism," said co-organizer Axel Magnus from the "Offensive against the Right" to the APA on Friday. The ball is being used on the eve of International Women's Day on March 8 as an occasion to highlight "the backward view of women and gender by ethnic fraternities," as stated in a press release. "In the failed government negotiations of the FPÖ, it became apparent that they want to banish women 'back to the stove'." Furthermore, as every year, a statement should be made against the ball, which critics describe as an international networking event for right-wing extremists. "We do not want such a ball in the opulent rooms of the Hofburg," Magnus explained.

Additionally, starting at 7 PM, the "Antifascist Alliance Ballhausplatz" - a coalition of the Jewish Austrian Students (JöH), the "Grannies against the Right," the Green Youth, and other groups - will also demonstrate in Vienna's city center at Michaelerplatz.

Vienna Akademikerball 2025: Police Anticipated Traffic Disruptions

The route leads from Schottenring via Wipplingerstraße, Hohen Markt, Rotenturmstraße to Stephansplatz. A final rally is planned there. Due to the demonstrations and the ban on gatherings around the Hofburg, the police anticipated traffic disruptions in the Inner City in advance. The Ring Road has been partially closed since 5 PM. The police recommend avoiding the inner-city area extensively. Furthermore, according to the police, there will be temporary short-term traffic closures and traffic diversions in the assembly area itself, as well as on all adjacent streets.

Niki Kunrath, human rights spokesperson for the Vienna Greens, spoke on Friday regarding the venue in the Hofburg, calling it a "fatal signal" being sent. "For the human rights city of Vienna, it is shameful that the so-called 'Academics Ball' of the Vienna FPÖ still takes place in the heart of Vienna," said Kunrath in a statement.

The JöH also once again called for the cancellation of the ball by the Hofburg operators on Friday. It is "shocking that German-nationalist fraternities dance in the most prestigious rooms of the republic," said JöH President Alon Ishay.

Prior to the event, the JöH caused a stir with a video-projected "Countdown to the Nazi Ball" on the outer castle gate. As announced by the Jewish Student Union on Friday in a statement, the projection was removed by the police on the eve of the ball following a report of suspected incitement.

Intense Protests at the Vienna Academics Ball 2014

The ball has repeatedly been accompanied by sometimes intense protests in the past. Particularly in 2014, there were numerous instances of property damage and a significant number of injured demonstrators and police officers. However, the situation has calmed significantly in the years since.

The demonstrators' discontent was always primarily directed against German-nationalist fraternities, who have been organizing and shaping the event since 1952. Until 2012, the event was organized by the Vienna Corporations Ring (WKR). After disagreements with the Vienna Hofburg, the FPÖ Vienna took over the organization, renaming it the "Academics Ball."

This year, numerous high-ranking guests from the Freedom Party are again expected, including the blue National Council President Walter Rosenkranz and the Vienna FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp.

The guest list has always caused a stir in the past. Most recently, Martin Sellner, former head of the "Identitarian Movement," classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, danced in the Hofburg, and in 2012, the French right-wing nationalist Marine Le Pen attended the ball.

All information about the Vienna Academics Ball

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.