WU ball 2016

In keeping with tradition, the ball of the Vienna University of Economics and Business, which took place on the first weekend of the new year, marked the beginning of the Viennese ball season for the 21st time. Again, more than 4,000 guests turned out for the event in Vienna's splendid Hofburg Palace.

For the first time, the new rector of Europe's largest business university, Prof. Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger, the first woman to hold this position, extended a warm welcome to the ball-goers, opening the dance floor together with state secretary Dr. Harald Mahrer, who honored the promise he had made the year before.

The event highlight in the heart of Vienna was attended not only by high-ranking diplomats such as Malaysia's new ambassador to Austria, Dato Adnan Othman, Namibia's ambassador, Simon Madjumo Maruta, or France's ambassador, Pascal Teixeira da Silva, but also by distinguished representatives from the business, industrial and political communities, including Wolfgang Brandstetter, the Austrian Federal Minister of Justice, and Ewald Nowotny, the governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank.

The WU Alumni Lounge—having a ball at the ball

At 11 p.m., the WU Alumni Lounge, which the WU Executive Club and the WU Alumni Club traditionally organize for their members and partners, opened its doors. Thanks to the splendid ambience of the "Geheime Ratsstube" and the refreshing drinks provided by the main sponsors of the event, Mayer am Pfarrplatz, Kattus, Vöslauer and Rauch, the guests were having a ball at the ball, dancing the night away to DJ Leo's Latin American beats.