#dif23: That was the 40th anniversary edition

2023-06-25 22:02:24

The #dif23 celebrated its grand finale today with countless visitors. For 40 years, the Danube Island Festival has stood for a top-class program – always with free admission.

Vienna (OTS / SPW) – The Danube Island Festival is the largest open-air festival in Europe with free admission and celebrated its 40th anniversary this year under the motto #momentewiediesen. From June 23 to 25, 2023, visitors were offered a program of superlatives. A festival of this magnitude, which is freely accessible to everyone, is unique in the world and impressively demonstrates how affordable life works in a city like Vienna. Social cohesion and respectful cooperation with low-threshold access for all have been at the heart of the Danube Island Festival for four decades and make every edition an unforgettable experience.

Mayor Dr. Michael Ludwig: “The 40th Danube Island Festival proved that the Danube Island Festival is the most peaceful and largest open-air festival in Europe with free admission. The Danube Island Festival is a festival of the Viennese and my special thanks go to the organizers, who also made the 40th Danube Island Festival unforgettable through their organization. In our city we live the cohesion and togetherness, we have impressively proven that again in the 3 days. That’s how the Danube Island Festival works and that’s how Vienna works.”

Barbara Novak, state party secretary of the SPÖ Vienna: “40 years of the Danube Island Festival – that’s an incredible story. The fact that the Danube Island Festival is such a success is mainly due to the many volunteers and employees. I am pleased that everyone is pulling together at this festival to offer the Viennese a wonderful Danube Island Festival. I know that this festival is only possible because of all of you here and that our city would be inconceivable without it. We were all able to experience an anniversary edition this year that more than lived up to its motto #momentslikethese.”

Matthias Friedrich, managing director of the Pro Event Team for Vienna and project manager of the Danube Island Festival: “I would like to thank the countless visitors who have become part of our festival this year with our comprehensive supporting program during the day. People have responded extremely well to offers ranging from sports and dance to recruiting. But I would also like to emphasize the excellent performance and the extraordinary team spirit of the many employees, many of them volunteers, the emergency organizations and authorities and our Donauinselfest partners. This well-rehearsed team makes a peaceful festival of this magnitude possible. Thanks!”

That was the Donauinselfest 2023
An essential part of the Danube Island Festival is its effect as a platform for visitors and artists. The largest open-air festival in Europe with free entry promotes women and young talents in particular and offers them a stage. The winning acts of the Rock The Island Contest 2023 were 100 percent women. In addition, the festival of superlatives is considered the biggest sponsor of the local music, art and culture scene and offers all artists fair remuneration. The low-threshold access to the Danube Island Festival not only refers to free entry, but also to a large number of measures that are implemented in favor of barrier poverty. This year, the organizers worked together with the Viennese accessibility consulting agency FullAccess for the seventh time on the topic of inclusion. In addition, awareness has been a top priority at the Danube Island Festival for years and with the lifeline and checkit! and implemented for the first time by the festival pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Vienna on the festival grounds.

#dif23 Charity-Partner CAPE 10
Social cohesion is also lived in the cooperation with the #dif23 charity partner CAPE 10. During the entire festival weekend, visitors could donate their cup deposit of two euros to the charitable foundation. In addition, there were merchandise items in the anniversary year of the Danube Island Festival, the net proceeds of which also benefited CAPE 10. T-shirts and hoodies in the classic design with #dif23 line-up and island map as well as caps and gym bags with the lettering “GEH MA INSEL” were available on the island and can also be purchased after the festival while stocks last be acquired.

The #dif23 program review
On the last weekend of the Danube Island Festival, the 4.5-kilometer-long festival site became the scene of around 700 hours of program with more than 1,000 artists and a comprehensive supporting program for all generations. The mayor Dr. Michael Ludwig and SPÖ federal party chairman Andreas Babler, who visited the island together on Friday and Saturday. Climate Councilor Jürgen Czernohorszky, Finance Councilor Peter Hanke and Transport Councilor Ulli Sima were also on an island tour in the area of the working world island on Friday.

Musical highlights were presented on Friday with MOLA, GreeeN, Jazz Gitti, Wencke Myhre & Band, Elisabeth Engstler & Band, Wiener Wahnsinn or WIR 4. RAF CAMORA provided the brilliant finale, which, among other things, put on a superlative stage show with the surprise guest Yung Hurn. Also on Saturday was a star line-up from Bonnie Tyler, The BossHoss, DJs from Mars, Münchener Freiheit, Julian le Play and JAMYX. The grand finale on Sunday was offered by Silbermond, Michael Patrick Kelly, Topic, the Spider Murphy Gang and many more! In the spirit of promoting young talent, this year’s Rock The Island Contest winners RAHEL, KTEE and FELICIA LU opened the big Wien Energie / radio fm4 / Radio Wien / HITRADIO Ö3 festival stage on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

This year’s supporting program at the DIF, which was implemented more extensively than ever before, promised many innovations. With Wien Holding Recruiting Insel Floridsdorf and Wien Holding Recruiting Insel Brigittenau, the Donauinselfest became a job platform, the Bank Austria Edelstoff pop-up design market brought young designers and small manufacturers in particular to the fore and advice in all situations was provided on the advice island powered by Wien Holding. In addition, a large sports, fitness and dance program was offered, including “Fit with Philipp made possible by Wien Energie and spusu”, yoga by AuroraYoga, disco training powered by HEUTE – the daily newspaper, Holmes Place – Live Workout with DJ Mazen and dance courses the dance school Kopetzky. The youngest DIF visitors got their money’s worth at the OKIDOKI Kinderfreunde stage, where “OKIDOKI on Tour” was a guest for the anniversary edition.

The five bicycle garages, which were implemented for the first time at the DIF together with the ARBÖ, were particularly well received.

The Danube Island Festival
The Vienna Danube Island Festival is the largest open-air festival in Europe with free entry. A top-class music, action and fun program has been offered on the Danube Island for 40 years. The festival has always stood for social cohesion, an affordable and modern Vienna and treating each other with respect. www.donauinselfest.at

The six presenting partners of the Donauinselfest 2023 are: Wien Energie, UniCredit Bank Austria, OBI, Wiener Städtische Versicherung, Österreichische Lotterien and Wien Holding.

See below for images