Leipzig Opera Ball says: Shalom Israel

 

“We’re going dancing”: The social event of the year in Leipzig drew more than 2,000 guests.

 

For the 21st time, the world-famous Gewandhausorchester zu Leipzig opened the Leipzig Opera Ball. 2015 saw the arrival of more than 2,000 guests, including many well-known faces from the worlds of business, culture and politics, who all assembled there under the motto “Shalom Israel”. The festive occasion went on well into the night and boasted everything that goes to make a great ball: glamour, music, dancing, haute cuisine and a tombola.

 

Lord Mayor of Leipzig Burkhard Jung and Israeli Ambassador Yakov Hadas-Handelsman opened the ball. Ambassador Hadas-Handelsman said in his opening address: “An anthology was recently published of Israeli and German authors who write about the respectively other country. It is entitled “Wir vergessen nicht, wir gehen tanzen” (We won’t forget, we’re going dancing). I thought that could be a good motto for the Leipzig Opera Ball 2015. We won’t forget that it is not to be taken for granted that our relations today are so diverse, trusting and dynamic. We won’t forget that the reason for this is the past. And at the same time we take delight in our unique, very special relations. We are pleased that there are so many friendships between Israelis and Germans, strong partnerships between cities, institutions and organisations in both countries and diverse and productive collaborations in Israeli-German projects and initiatives.”

 

A special feature of the Leipzig Opera Ball is not only that a world-renowned symphony orchestra plays at the opening, but that it also accompanies the dancing guests. And this was certainly true again in 2015. In addition, a number of bands played in several different lounges. Moreover Israeli and German fashion designers presented their extravagant creations. The main prize in the tombola, whose participants included “Tatort” detective Richy Müller, was a Porsche Cayman donated by Porsche. The proceeds from the raffle will go towards funding children’s projects in Leipzig and Israel. The menu was compiled by German-Israeli Michelin-starred chef Tom Franz.

Since January 2015 Leipzig has held numerous events marking the jubilee of German-Israeli diplomatic relations. For example, Israel was the guest country at the Green Ventures trade fair and the Leipzig Book Fair.

 

More pictures from the Leipzig Opera Ball