Unique Experiences

Item Description

Bid now for this unique once-in-a-lifetime experience!

On Friday February the 10th, the 62nd Viennese Opera Ball will be the last white-tie gala to take place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which closes its doors on February 28th.

During the opening ceremony, you will enter the Grand Ballroom in an open horse-drawn carriage, either solo or with a guest, and be escorted to your seats, in front of the assembled international audience that includes diplomats and dignitaries, international corporations and professionals, as well as the press and media. The horse carriage has been a staple at the event for decades and has been covered by the NY Times, NY Post and Wall Street Journal and many other media in the past.

The Waldorf Astoria is unique in its ability to get two horses and a carriage onto the 4th floor-level ballroom, the NY Times has reported about this in the past: https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/04/nocturnalist-how-the-horses-got-to-the-ball

The 62nd Viennese Opera Ball is an annual white tie charity gala drawing an international audience that includes diplomats and dignitaries, international corporations and professionals. The Ball celebrates the cultural and economic Austrian-American relationships and brings traditional Vienna to the City that never sleeps. www.vienneseoperaball.us/

The Strauss Festival Orchestra Vienna will lead through the night in the Grand Ballroom. We have planned many musical surprises throughout the evening and including performances by Metropolitan Opera star Stephen Costello, opera stars Sarah Joy Miller, Massimo Giordano, Kristin Lewis and many more.

Amongst many highlights are the opening polonaise performed by debutantes and escorts, the presentation of the flags by the West Point Color Guard, the entry of special guests in a horse-drawn carriage and the traditional midnight Quadrille. After 1am, the Ball continues at the Tanz Bar until 4am with Jazz musician Ali Jackson, from  Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and a late-night Austrian specialty buffet.

Each year the Viennese Opera Ball supports charitable projects that are connected to communities in New York or Vienna. The proceeds of the 62nd Viennese Opera Ball benefit 'Leonard Bernstein - A New Yorker in Vienna', a special project of the Jewish Museum Vienna in cooperation with the U.S. Friends of the Jewish Museum of Vienna.

Item Special Note

• This experience will take place on Friday February 10, 2017 in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel New York during the opening ceremony of the Viennese Opera Ball.
• Ball tickets are not included and must be purchased separately online. Dinner tickets are available for $1,000pp and patron tickets for $1,350 per person. Also a table is available for purchase.
  
• Approximate duration: Event takes place from 7:30pm (VIP reception) until 4am; the horse carriage ride into the ballroom will be during the opening ceremony at 9:00pm
  
• Valid for 1 or 2 people
• Carriage will be open and drawn by two horses
• Social media shout-out will occur the date of attendance or day after, including photos posted;
• Since this event will be covered by media, photo might appear in other online or print media as well but not guaranteed
• Social Media shoutout will be event or charity related
• Experience cannot be resold or re-auctioned.
• Travel and accommodations are not included.
• Adherence to dress code of the Viennese Opera Ball mandatory; white tie and tail coats for men, long ball gowns for ladies; decorations
• It is expressly understood that animals are unpredictable by nature and may fail to perform a particular act on a given day. If the horses fail to perform that evening, there will be no refunds..