Paris Hilton headed to Vienna
Paris will be attending next week’s Opera Ball in Vienna - the place to be in Austria. And her visit is what everyone is talking about. The Viennese are in arms because of the trouble Paris has gotten into lately - guilty of reckless driving, having her dirty videos on the web, the whole herpes thing… “This makes a farce of the Opera Ball,” says Barbara Kroth, a retired real estate agent who said she always looks forward to the annual affair at the 137-year-old State Opera House “because of the quality it represents.”
The Opera Ball, which is broadcast live on national television, draws about 4,500 well-heeled Austrian and foreign celebrities, dignitaries and socialites with tickets being sold out months in advance at more than $280 per person.
Tickets often sell out months in advance, and entry does not come cheap. It costs US$280 per person, although with extras such as gowns and tuxedos, flowers, limousines, high-end champagne and lavish pre- or post-ball dinners, the night typically runs US$1,300 or more. A box at the ball is more than $20,000.
After another controversy emerged over reports that Hilton might use the venerable Opera Ball to publicly endorse a canned Austrian prosecco she was hired last year to promote, she issued a statement insisting she would never do anything to sully the ball’s reputation “because I respect the institution of the Opera Ball too much.” Hilton told the Austria Press Agency she just wanted to enjoy the magic of the ball. “I learned the waltz when I was young,” she said. “All I really have to do now is practice my steps.”
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