At 9.30pm on May 19, the opening of the Life Ball 2012 took place, accompanied by loud electronic and pop music, resonating between the Vienna City Hall (Wien Rathaus) and the Vienna Burg Theater (Wien Burgtheater), where the red carpet, or as the ball coordinator would call it – the Magenta Carpet, was laid to receive the guests of the ball.

The audience, along the sides of the Magenta Carpet, was obviously delighted to see all national and international politicians and celebrities such as Bill Clinton, Milla Jovovich and Antonio Banderas. The more guests appeared, the higher the cheering was from the audience which went along with the guests from the Magenta Capet to Red Ribbon catwalk situated in front of the stage. The style of ball guests was both elegant and fascinating, starting with suits through to revealing outfits and colorful elaborations of body painting.

The 20th anniversary of Life Ball was host by Nicholas Ofczarek and Ben Becker, both famous actors from Austria. Starting with a short scene of the theater play ‘Everyman’, they introduced their message to the audience: the AIDS epidemic should be taken seriously by all of us, especially in the Third World.

This message was also underlined in the speech of the former US President Bill Clinton who was representing his organization Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) at Life Ball. He said that, in order to stop AIDS epidemic,“We have to train people, educate models and built system.” A part of the collected funds from the Ball will be given to Clinton’s organization; he is hoping to reduce the number of HIV-infected babies in Uganda and Sambia.

Naomi Cambell and Antonio Banderas rewarded the organization Operation Bobbi Bear with the “Crystal of Hope” which included prize money of 100 000 euros. Jackie Branfield, the founder of the organization, has been devoting her life to helping raped and HIV- infected kids in the South African province Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Milla Jovovich, the ambassador of the American Foundation for Aids Research expressed her excitement of being at Life Ball to the audience, “This is one of the best events.” In her speech, she emphasized the importance of taking action against the spreading of AIDS and praised the effort Life Ball has made till now, “You all should be pround!” Apart from a few welcoming words by the Mayor of Vienna Michael Häupl, there was little presence of Austrian politicians on stage.

Gery Ketzler, the founder of the Life Ball, thanked the audience, all the sponsors and especially the city of Vienna for allowing them to use the whole City Hall. He said, “It has been a long journey. AIDS not only hurts the body but the soul.” He continued that AIDS also stigmatizes the affected minorities. With all his effort for Life Ball, he hopes to raise public awareness for HIV and AIDS.

The spectacular fire show was among this year’s highlights, dedicated to the anniversary’s motto “Fight the Flames of Ignorance”. The dominant color red has been a tradition of the Life Ball and was generously used in all imaginable combinations and forms. This year’s fashion show was hosted by VOGUE Italia, giving a retrospective fashion show on the Red Ribbon catwalk in front of the Vienna City Hall.

The fashion show presented remarkable looks from the last two decades by top models such as Karolina Kurkova, Eva Padberg und Tatjana Patitz. The stuntwoman Miriam Höller surprised the audience with the burning Victoria’s Secret wings.

In 1993, when Life Ball took place for the first time, it only sold 150 tickets. Twenty years later, at this anniversary, there were 95 000 candidates from 73 countries wanting to buy 3780 available tickets.

Every year, there are around 500 national and international media representatives at the event. Last year, Life Ball collected two million euros for AIDS projects. The numbers show how successful Life Ball has been, whether as a charity event or as symbol of acceptance, solidarity, tolerance, and an important voice of and for the affected minority.

Image Courtesy Life Ball ©
Photo Credit : Andreas TISCHLER

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Some people have all the luck. At an early age, Milla Jovovich was acting, modelling, and writing and performing music. In each case, she received strong reviews. At any moment, she might be featured in film, fashion magazines and events, on the soundtrack to another film, and promoting a charitable cause.

Ms. Jovovich appeared as Milady de Winter in the adaptation of ‘The Three Musketeers,’ directed by her husband, Paul W.S. Anderson, as well as in four other films this year, and will return in at least two films scheduled for next year.

Ms. Jovovich rules the fashion world: she co-founded a fashion line, Jovovich-Hawk; she has appeared in hundreds of magazines, TV-commercials and other fashion and cosmetics promotions; she is a spokesmodel for L’Oréal, one of the highest profiles for models. She also sponsors a number of charities, such as cancer research, AIDS research, wildlife societies, UNICEF and UNESCO.

Her only music album, ‘The Divine Comedy,’ was released in 1994, when she was 16; she had written it the year before. She had a band for a short time, called Plastic Has Memory, which never made an album but made music and has a song on the benefit CD, ‘Hollywood Goes Wild.’ Ms. Jovovich continues to produce music for screen and for anyone via her web-site, www.millaj.com.

While the music was well received, it is not as widely known as her work in the fashion and film industries. Ms. Jovovich has a rare versatility in her styles: she can dramatically change her look and still keep a distinctive presence. This has served her well around the world. Her film work has extended around the globe as well, with this year’s ‘Lucky Trouble’ coming from Russia. Ms. Jovovich is multi-lingual.

Most of her fans know her from the film franchise, ‘Resident Evil.’ The four films, and a fifth next year, are based on a popular video-game and are directed by Mr. Anderson. He is not the first of her director-husbands: she was also married to Luc Besson, who directed her in her breakthrough, ‘The Fifth Element’ (1997), as the “perfect being,” and ‘The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc’ (1999).

She has appeared in the weighty ‘Chaplin’ (1992) and the fashion-comedy ‘Zoolander’ (2001). But it is her action roles that have made the biggest mark. Her Alice in ‘Resident Evil’ (2002) helped garner a following, and four sequels have followed so far. She does many of her own stunts.

Milla Jovovich is beautiful; she can act; she can sing and write songs; she plays the guitar; she speaks several languages; she works for charities. She presents herself well in interviews, and has a fun and accessible demeanour. She is also a mother. She is more the saviour than damsel in distress, though she can exude vulnerability, and always femininity. Her daughter will be another to watch.

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