To put the scale of the Styrian Farmers' Union Ball into perspective: nearly 30 artists on seven stages provided musical entertainment to around 16,000 spectators throughout the night.
“Meeting Between City and Country”
The Farmers Union Ball is traditionally a “meeting between town and country,” said Farmers Union President Franz Titzenbacher, and dancing with Willie Caballero has become a tradition, and again this year brought together students from agricultural schools. Dance group.
The seer said goodbye
This year's musical highlight was Seer, who was essentially on a farewell tour and played one of their last concerts in Cross; Daredevils, “Cambodia” translator Anna-Sophie and Tyrolean pop singer Hannah also warmed the mood.
But Bauernbundball's “old acquaintances” such as the Styrian band Egon7, Die Fürsten, Die Südsteirer and Die Pagger Buam were also seen on the stages.
“It's all in (kernel) oil!”
“All in (kernel) oil!” In keeping with the motto, there were special dishes based on the black gold of Styria – more about this at the 73rd Farmers' Union Ball under the sign “Black Gold” (January 8, 2024) . A total of 750 liters of pumpkin seed oil, 1,200 kg of beef, bird salad with 4,000 eggs, 5,000 pieces of Styrian apples and more were processed and eaten at the ball.
“On the one hand, we want to bring Styrian gold to the fore, and on the other hand, we need a fun title that invites people to celebrate,” said Franz Donner, director of the farmers' association, in the run-up to the ball. .
The motto was also important when it came to drinks: there was even a drink made with pumpkin seed oil. In addition, more than 60 Styrian winemakers offered their wines to be tasted and around 20,000 liters of beer were drunk.
A significant economic factor
Some more numbers: The lighting and sound technology for the 40,000 square meter space, including 3,500 headlights and 90 kilometers of cable, was supplied with seven semi-trailers. 3,500 flowers and ornamental plants and 4,000 square meters of trees created a pleasant atmosphere.
With a turnover of about six million euros, the event is now an important economic factor for many industries: about 1.8 million euros are spent in advance on traditional clothes, shoes and jewelry, 760,000 euros on hairdressers, taxis and dinners, and 2,800 extra nights of accommodation are booked – a total of 500,000 euros. More on this in Bauernbundball, the economic factor – flowing in taxes.
Two objections
Meanwhile, the traditional dress festival was overshadowed by two demonstrations: as announced, the Society Against Animal Industries (VGT) protested loudly against the decks completely stacked in front of the town hall, and the last generation took to the main stage with banners. opening – but their appearance was short-lived. As the activists were led away, organizer Franz Donner calmly commented, according to Kleine Zeitung: “We don't need climate glue, we buy regionally, and that's the best thing for the climate.”
