Perhaps Vienna's most attractive summer offer draws music fans to City Hall Square this year, too. The music program ranging from opera to ballet and from jazz to pop begins after nightfall for 500 viewers in the cinema area.

Off to the box

The 500 seats are grouped in boxes for 2 and 4 people in front of the imposing 300 square meter screen. Nearer to the screen, you can devote yourself fully to the film; in the boxes further back, DO & CO serves food and drinks. All boxes can be reserved free of charge at www.filmfestival-rathausplatz.at or at the information point by the entrance on Lichtenfelsgasse; remaining seats – where available – can be reserved on location.

Beethoven to Avicii

The music program will open with Beethoven's Fidelio – his anniversary (250th birthday) will then be fittingly celebrated with at least one Beethoven evening per week. The compositions of the Viennese by choice are timelessly brilliant.
Franz Lehár (150th birthday) is honored with the operetta Das Land des Lächelns (The Land of Smiles), Jacques Offenbach (140th anniversary of his death) with Orpheus in the Underworld. Big-name artists who died in the recent past can also be experienced captured on film: the opera singers Jessye Norman and Mirella Freni, the director Franco Zeffirelli, the contemporary composer Krzysztof Penderecki, and the jazz legend Aretha Franklin. Productions of the Vienna State Opera can be watched on seven evenings. And fans of pop music can look forward to legendary concert evenings with stars like Avicii, Grönemeyer, and Take That.

Hungry for gastro

If you more in the mood for food, you'll want to secure a place in the restaurant area, which also has 500 seats. Small but mighty compared to previous years, but perhaps more relaxed than usual. Several gourmet booths serve freshly cooked dishes from around the world, daily from 11.00 am to 12.00 midnight. Reservations are also recommended here (via the Film Festival website)

30th Music Film Festival 2020 #soWIENie (#VIENNAlikeneverbefore)

July 4 – September 6, 2020, City Hall Square
Admission is free!
Reservations, information and program: www.filmfestival-rathausplatz.at
Film starts: daily at nightfall
Admission 2 hours before the film starts – only with a valid ticket
Entrance to cinema area: Lichtenfelsgasse
Entrance to dining area: Ringstrasse
International cuisine: 11.00 am - 12.00 midnight, table reservation recommended