Vienna hosts Europe's biggest AIDS research charity event

Updated: 2015-05-17 14:10

(chinadaily.com.cn)

Singer Conchita Wurst (L) and Designer Jean Paul Gaultier (R) perform on stage during the opening ceremony of the 23rd Life Ball in Vienna, Austria May 16, 2015. [Photo/CFP]

This year's theme revolved around the ancient celebration of spring as the giver of life, and organizers pulled out all the stops.

Tens of thousands of spectators pushed against barriers to ogle paying guests in formal dress rubbing shoulders with celebrities, party-goers dressed in little more than body paint and cross-dressers in wild costumes.