Accompanied by his daughter Christina, girlfriend Heather Milligan and his nephew and lawyer Patrick Knapp-Schwarzengger, the “Terminator”, Hollywood star and former governor of California walked the red carpet at the Stanglwirt. In a classy suit and red tie, he appeared to be in a good mood and was undoubtedly able to gain a lot from the hype about himself.
However, one had to wait in vain for a word donation on his part. Instead, as soon as he had done his celebrity duty, he walked down the red carpet in the direction of the indoor riding arena, where numerous exhibits were to go under the hammer, framed by a chic dinner.
Among them were: A humidor with a clear Terminator reference, skis signed by Lindsey Vonn, an exact replica of the leather jacket from “Terminator 2”, a picture of his friend and amateur painter, Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone, a work of art by Gottfried Helnwein or a painting from the Pen by the Brazilian artist Romero Britto, who previously showed himself extensively and happily posing on the red carpet. In any case, according to the organizer, the proceeds benefit the “Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative”, which, among other things, organizes the “Austrian World Summit” in Vienna every May and supports climate projects worldwide.
When the “Styrian Oak” calls, then of course the celebrities stand by their guns. These were, for example: “Volks-Rock’n’Roller” Andreas Gabalier accompanied by gallery owner Lisa Kandlhofer, model Barbara Meier with extremely eye-catching golden boots, Schwarzenegger buddy Ralf Moeller, presenter Mirjam Weichselbraun and sister, Lindsey Vonn, the front men of the band “The BossHoss” or actor Hannes Jaenicke.
These celebrities and the more or less well-known 170 guests did not splash out on the red carpet after completing the show, or at least quickly walked it and dug deep into their pockets for the climate: the former governor of California played 1.2 million euros for environmental protection a. Schwarzenegger was euphoric about this sum at the end of the dinner: “Of course we can only continue our great work with the support of our friends and supporters. So I thank you all for making this evening a success and for being part of it are the solution.” The “Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative” wants to use the money to support projects in Africa, Asia, South America and Ukraine, for example.
But not only the good and important cause was the focus of the evening, but also great entertainment was provided. “The BossHoss” performed some of their songs and the auction itself wasn’t exactly dead serious either. The American comedian, actor and TV presenter Matt Iseman performed his important function as auctioneer with a clear penchant for wit and a good dose of charm.
At about the same time, the state of Tyrol celebrated its traditional “Kitzbühel Reception” in Kitzbühel in the “Goldenen Gams”. After the customary reception with marksmen and brass band music, Governor Anton Mattle (ÖVP), ÖSV President Roswitha Stadlober and Michael Huber, President of the Kitzbühel Ski Club, officially opened the 83rd Hahnenkamm race. In addition to the entire Tyrolean state government, with the exception of Deputy Governor Josef Geisler (ÖVP), the Secretary of State for Digitization Florian Tursky (ÖVP), the ski greats of yore, Ernst Hinterseer and Karl Schranz, and the President of the Tyrolean Federation of Industry, Christoph Swarovski, were present.
Governor Mattle finally made a confession: “I’m a skier.” But there are worlds between “skiing and racing”. A lot could be learned for life and in general from the courage of the racing athletes, he said and presented the “Stubaier Freitagsmusig” after the musical accompaniment of the evening. The culinary part of the event could begin.