“I’m particularly pleased that my first, and last, edition of the festival under normal circumstances has been met with such a positive response. These are the Festwochen I wanted to bring to Vienna, made up of multiple commissions and audacious creations, and offering an abundant and coherent programme that showcases a great diversity of artistic voices. From the great canons to the – fascinating – emerging figures on their way to recognition, from epic tales to social commitments, from the spectacular to the intimate, from the repertory to the visionary, the artistic disciplines have come together to form a remarkable artistic centre in Vienna.”

Christophe Slagmuylder
Artistic Director

This year, after several others affected by the pandemic, the Wiener Festwochen were delighted to welcome many new as well as loyal audiences to the festival’s 20 venues. The attendance of young target groups was particularly notable. More than twice as many under-30s were counted compared with last year (+125%). Despite unfortunate cancellations (Devonté Hynes, whose Selected Classical Works had already sold out the Burgtheater, and The Child, whose leading actor Fatemeh Motamed-Arya was denied an exit visa to leave her native Iran), 40,495 tickets were issued, resulting in an attendance figure of 88,5%. A total of 66,756 people attended the festival (incl. the grand opening and other events).

New approaches and young visitors

‘2023 was challenging, but good,’ says Executive Director Artemis Vakianis summing up the season. ‘Despite the rainy start and a number of unfortunate cancellations, we were able to put on some truly wonderful productions, adopt new approaches and win over numerous regulars as well as lots of new audiences. I’m particularly delighted that we were able to appeal to younger target groups this year with the U30 Vermehrt Schönes! tickets and content-based programmes such as Pinocchio by Moved by the Motion and Skatepark by Mette Ingvartsen. It’s a concept we intend to retain.’

Talking of content, the Festwochen opened its doors even more widely to the world of theatre and showcased current productions by international theatre greats such as Alexander Zeldin, Milo Rau, Mariano Pensotti, Julien Gosselin, Susanne Kennedy and Simon McBurney as well as remarkable works by Joël Pommerat, Anne-Cécile Vandalem, Marina Davydova, Tomi Janežič and Kornél Mundruczó. Alongside the Elective Affinities concert series at Porgy & Bess, the Festwochen’s Kabarett tradition was revived at the Metropol under the title COMISH in a collaboration with Austrian Kabarett artist Maria Muhar.

Festwochen programme: from the intimate to the spectacular – transgressing borders between narrative and music

In addition to the new production of Alban Berg’s Lulu, music featured very prominently at this year’s Wiener Festwochen. Propaganda and pop collided in Singing Youth’s choral music, Moor Mother fused jazz, electro and R’n’B, and Meskerem Mees subtly shaped Robert Johnson’s Walkin’ Blues towards pop in Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s EXIT ABOVE. Meanwhile, three works commissioned by the Festwochen – Song of the Shank, Metamorphosis of a Living Room and Canti di Prigionia – explored the coming together of theatre, narrative and music. George Lewis and Stan Douglas’s adaptation of Jeffery Allen’s Song of the Shank delighted audiences in the final week of the 2023 festival edition.

According to Kunsthalle Wien, Turner Prize winner Laure Prouvost’s solo exhibition Ohmmm age Oma je ohomma mama, which is on show at the Kunsthalle until October, had already attracted well over 5,000 visitors by mid-June.

The Wiener Festwochen in the media

Media interest in the programme of the 2023 Wiener Festwochen was tremendous. Indeed, there were frequent reports about the Festwochen both in Austria and abroad, in the form of previews and ongoing coverage. Accreditation was issued to a total of 275 journalists (211 from Austria and 64 from international media) from 20 countries. 1,668 media articles were filed.

Die Wiener Festwochen sind Österreichs State-of-the-Art-Vorzeigefestival mit sachten Avantgardeansprüchen – die Erwartungen daran einzulösen, sprich international reüssierende Kunstschaffende auszumachen und zu verdichten, ist mit der diesjährigen Ausgabe vielfach gelungen. Der Standard

So stellt man sich Festwochen vor! Kronen Zeitung

(Slagmuylder endet) mit einem Festival, das man ihm und dem Publikum schon vorher gewünscht hätte. Eines, das opulent und zart, politisch und poetisch, traditionell und experimentell aufzeigt, warum Mehrspartenfestivals in der Kulturlandschaft ein Pflänzchen sind, das gehegt und gepflegt werden muss. Kleine Zeitung

Das Publikum scheint zurückzukommen und nach den schwierigen Corona-Jahren weniger Ungeduld zu zeigen. Slagmuylder hat die Kurve gekriegt: Wenn er jetzt nach Brüssel zurückkehrt, um den noch größeren Kulturtanker Palais des Beaux-Arts zu leiten, wird Wien so manche Träne für ihn vergießen. Chapeau! Falter

Wiener Festwochen Partners

We are sincerely grateful to our sponsors and co-operation partners, who were instrumental in the success of this year’s festival. Our diverse family of sponsors provides the foundations for our artists to benefit from the best possible conditions both on stage and backstage and for our audiences to enjoy extraordinary artistic projects and new venues.

Special thanks go here to: the two main sponsors, Erste Bank and Wiener Städtische, two organisations that, through their ongoing commitment to culture sponsoring, make a substantial contribution to the cultural life of this city; and to our sponsor of many years, AK Wien, who made it possible to offer free entry to over 30 events this year. Equally heartfelt and special thanks go to our partners HP, Hilton Vienna Park, Max Brown, Dorotheum Wien and many more, as well as our numerous media partners, including ORF, Ö1, FM4, DER STANDARD, Falter.

The Wiener Festwochen would likte to thank everyone

without whom the festival could not have been realised in this form.

Main Sponsors Erste Bank, Wiener Städtische Sponsors Arbeiterkammer Wien, Hilton Vienna Park, Stiegl, HP, Dorotheum Public Sponsors Kulturabteilung der Stadt Wien, Bundesministerium für Kunst, Kultur, öffentlichen Dienst und Sport, British Embassy Vienna, British Council, Botschaft von Belgien – Vertretung von Flandern in Österreich, Institut français dˈAutriche, Istituto Italiano di Cultura Vienna, Botschaft der Republik Litauen in der Republik Österreich, Botschaft von Kanada in Österreich, Botschaft & Ständige Vertretung Dänemarks Wien Hotel and Gastronomy Partners Max Brown, Vöslauer, Weingut Zahel, WEIN & CO, Caffè vom See, magdas Hotel, Hotel Beethoven Wien, The Harmonie Vienna, The Social Hub, twing, Trześniewski, Zweitbester, Café Leopold Mobility Partners Vienna International Airport, Austrian Airlines, Taxi 40100, Swapfiets Cooperation Partners Parlament Österreich, MusikTheater an der Wien, Volksoper Wien, Tanzquartier Wien, Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier, brut wien, Franz Josefs Kai 3 – Raum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Porgy & Bess, Club U, MuseumsQuartier Wien, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Stadtkino im Künstlerhaus, Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen, Erste Stiftung, Jüdisches Museum Wien, Büchereien - Stadt Wien, OeAD – Agentur für Bildung und Internationalisierung, SPAR Akademie Wien, Alban Berg Stiftung, Skateboard Club Vienna, Rapid, Höhere Graphische Bundes-Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt, brunnenpassage, Franzi Kreis Fotografie, Inés Bacher Fotografie, Karolina Miernik, Nurith Wagner-Strauss International Partners Holland Festival, Kunstfestspiele Herrenhausen, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Festival d’Avignon, Athens Epidaurus Festival, Printemps de Comédiens Montpellier, Kunstenfestival des Arts, Hebbel am Ufer (HAU), Kaaitheater, De Singel Antwerpen, La Villette Paris, Romaeuropa Festival, Kunstencentrum BUDA (Kortrijk), CAMPO, Theater Freiburg, HIGH FEST, National Theatre London, RISING Melbourne, Théâtres de la Ville Luxembourg, Comédie de Genève, Odéon-Théâtre de L’Europe (Paris), Centro Cultural de Belém, Théâtre de Liège, Adelaide Festival, Centre Dramatique National de Normandie-Rouen, La Danse en Grand Forme, Ruhrtriennale, Theater Rotterdam, Perpodium Antwerpen, Toneelhuis Antwerpen, PACT Zollverein, Národni divaldo, NT Gent, Manchester International Festival, Mousonturm Frankfurt, Tandem Scène nationale (Arres-Douai), Equinoxe – Scène nationale de Chateauroux, Volksbühne Berlin, Le Phénix scene nationale Valenciennes, Maison de la Culture d’Amiens, Le Manège – Scène Nationale de Maubeuge Education Partners Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Max Reinhardt Seminar, MUK - Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien, Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, mdw - Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, Universität Leipzig, Universität Wien, Yale University, Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Pädagogische Hochschule Niederösterreich, OeAD - Agentur für Bildung und Internationalisierung, SPAR-Akademie Wien, BRG18 Schopenhauerstraße, ÖGB Kulturlotsinnen Media Partners Der Standard, Falter, ORF, ORF III, Ö1, FM4, Superfly Radio, goodnight.at.