20th Vienna Life Ball: Celebrities, Models and Participants [PHOTOS]

Thousands of celebrities, models and participants attended the 20<sup>th Life Ball in Vienna on 19 May, 2012 to highlight the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Regarded as one of Europe's largest annual AIDS charity event, the Vienna Life Ball marked its 20<sup>th anniversary with the theme "Fight the Flames of Ignorance".

Celebrities attending the event included names like former US president Bill Clinton, actress Milla Jovovich, Academy award winner Maximilian Schell and German actress Sunny Melles.

Apart from this, thousands of people dressed in colorful costumes attended this year's event.

Reuters reported that Milla Jovovich, representing the American Foundation for AIDS Research, appealed for donations to fund comprehensive medical treatment for victims in places like eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.

Since its inception in the year 1992, the Life Ball has emerged as a major charity event in Europe. Last year alone the organisers generated a profit of more than 2 million Euros to finance major HIV and AIDS support projects around the globe.

Gery Keszler, organiser of the Life Ball said in a statement: "20 years on, the Life Ball has become a nationally and internationally acclaimed major event and an established recognized platform in the fight against the HI virus. What is more, the brand Life Ball has turned into a significant economic factor for Vienna and Austria."

According to the statistics provided by the organisers, the Life Ball, apart from supporting numerous AIDS projects in Austria and abroad, also represents a significant economic factor, creating 91 full-time jobs throughout the year in Austria and achieving an overall value of £7.81 million.

In Vienna alone, Life Ball creates a value of £3.38 million securing 76 jobs as an IAS (Institute for Advanced Studies) study on the economic effects of the Life Ball shows. This study of the Life Ball 2011 commissioned by the Vienna Economic Chamber covers several areas such as organization and implementation of the Life Ball, use of funds, donations in kind, spending in kind as well as the effect on tourism.

Catch a glimpse of the many celebrities, models and participants in the 2012 Vienna Life Ball in the images given below: