16,000 visitors arrive

All set for the biggest ball in Europe

Dressed in traditional costume and off to Graz: 16,000 visitors are once again expected at the Styrian Farmers' Union Ball on Friday.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

The white and green event of superlatives: on Friday, the Styrian Farmers' Union Ball will once again draw the crowds to Graz in dirndls and lederhosen. No fewer than 16,000 visitors will flock to the fair. The star guest is Melissa Naschenweng - and it has already been decided who will escort the last guest out in the early hours of the morning.  

The fact that tickets for the biggest ball in the country - or even Europe, according to the organizers - are sold out weeks in advance is now as much a matter of course as the pumpkin seed oil on the salad: 16,000 visitors will once again celebrate the white and green way of life at the 74th Styrian Farmers' Association Ball at the Messecongress Graz on Friday.

More and more effort every year
The preparations, a mammoth organizational and logistical task, are in their final stages. "Everything is going according to plan, we are currently setting up tables and clearing away drinks," says organizer Raffael Fux, who started working in the cocktail bar at the Bauernbundball at the age of 16 and has now been pulling the strings at the head of the organization team for over ten years. "Despite being the same size, the workload has certainly tripled since then," says Fux. Every year, more "perfectionist details" are added.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com, Sepp Pail)

Styrian Farmers' Association Director Franz Tonner is also busy putting the finishing touches to the event these days. "For example, arranging the seating of the guests of honor," explains Tonner.

Celebrities on the Styrian stage
The list of prominent visitors is once again long. In contrast to Karl Nehammer last year, however, interim Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg will not be making an appearance on the Styrian stage this year. For ÖVP Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig, on the other hand, the Farmers' Union Ball is of course a must-attend event. Among the regular celebrity guests, Jazz Gitti and former Sturm Graz coach Franco Foda have once again announced their attendance.

Around 30 musicians and groups, including Marc Pircher and Die Edlseer, will provide the atmosphere on Friday. After her celebrated appearance at the Bauernbundball 2023, pop superstar Melissa Naschenweng will be performing again this year as a star guest. "A true Carinthian dirndl, without any airs and graces or special requests," says Bauernbund boss Franz Tonner, who will accompany the last guest out in the early hours of Saturday morning in his usual manner.