On 8 May, the day the war ended, the Vienna Festival set an example against hatred and violence: after a poster was destroyed, it was ceremoniously put up again, followed by a vigil, the first reading by Elfriede Jelinek's Burgtheater and a joint bed-in on Schwarzenbergplatz.
On 7 May, a large poster of the Wiener Festwochen | Freie Republik Wien was torn down and burnt opposite the Soviet war memorial on Schwarzenbergplatz, and the police are investigating. The poster, one of the main campaign images of this year's festival, shows two young men on a bed, entwined and united in love. It is referencing one of the most famous images in the history of photography: the bed-in of John Lennon and Yoko Ono against the Vietnam War.
On 8 May, the day of the end of World War II, the poster was put back up – in the presence of the Council of the Republic, citizens of Vienna, and the models of the poster campaign.
Afterwards, Rau invited the audience to the Burgtheater reading at Vienna's Burgtheater – the first reading of the anti-fascist play by Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek, which had been banned for 40 years – while a vigil protected the posters. At 11 pm, the bed-in of the Republic of Love began: together, we spent the night on Schwarzenbergplatz to send a message of love and reconciliation in times of war and hatred. In this way, 9 May – traditionally celebrated in Russia as “Victory Day” over Nazi troops – became a “Day of Love.”
"Of course we are saddened that vandalism happened at this historic site, which is intended to commemorate the fight against fascism and the victims of Nazi violence. But We are responding to this destructive and incomprehensible act with peaceful resistance, simply putting the poster back up and spending the night on site to protect it. We invite all those for whom this message is not clear enough to discuss it with us. Let's turn "Victory Day" into a day of love. Exactly 80 years after the end of the Second World War, let's hold a bed-in together: against war, hatred and new fascism. For generosity, tolerance - and a night full of wonderful debates and dreams on Schwarzenbergplatz." (Milo Rau)
