Deputy PM Nikolay Vassilev (R) inaugurated the Vienna Ball in Sofia's Hilton Hotel traditionally held under the aegis of Austrian Ambassador H.E. Karl Diem. Photo by Kameliya Atanasova (SNA)
The elite of Bulgaria gathered Saturday night at the traditional Vienna ball held for a fifth time under the aegis of Austrian Ambassador to Sofia Karl Diem.
The glittering event is traditionally organised by the Vienna Club Association and Austrian Embassy to raise charity funds for various purposes. This year the campaign was favored by nearly 500 diplomats, politicians, businessmen and Rotarians who danced all night long. The funds will be donated to the Alexander hospital and the Culture Veterans Club.
The Sofia event took place two days after the Vienna Opera Ball and truly rivalled the Austrian one in elegance and tradition with celebrities showing off for the media until early morning.
The first Vienna ball Sofia saw for the first time was in the dawn of modern Bulgarian state in 1880, just two years after the country was liberated from the Ottomans.