Berlin | Germany
Since its inception, the annual Operagala held in Berlin each year has become one of the most important and well-attended highlights of the German social calendar. The 25th Festival Operagala for the German AIDS Foundation held earlier this month was no different. Attended by more than 2 000 guests, the evening saw the politicians, socialites, celebrities and artists gather to raise funds for the worthy cause.
The Initiators of the 25th Festival Operagala for the German AIDS Foundation Dr Alard von Rohr and Alfred Weiss welcomed the German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to this year’s festivities as an honoured guest. Everyone in attendance noted this the 25th Festival Operagala for the German AIDS Foundation was one of this best thus far. The success of the evening went much further than everyone just having a good time, with the event having raised a massive amount for the worthy cause. This financial contribution will go a long way to the fight against HIV and AIDS. This year’s prestigious World Without AIDS Award went to none other than the legendary Sir Bob Geldof and the First Lady of Namibia, Monica Geingos. The First Lady commented:
“I am honoured to receive the World without AIDS Award. I regard it as an encouragement not just for me, but for all the people who are relentlessly fighting to change the course of the HIV epidemic. Only by joining forces in Namibia, in Germany and across the World can we achieve our goal towards ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030. We are close to achieving an AIDS-free generation and we must maintain the momentum.”
Some of the greatest starts of the International Opera world came together for an elegant programme for the jubilee gala. Hosted by artist Max Raabe, the evening saw artists like Xabier Anduaga, Bogdan Baciu, Venera Gimadieva, Julia Lezhneva, Elena Maximova, Maria Mudryak, Martin Muehle, Olga Peretyatko, Dmytro Popov and Alexander Tsymbalyuk transported attendees to another world with world-class performances. The conductor of the orchestra of the German Opera, Berlin was Enrique Mazzola.
25th Festival Operagala for the German AIDS Foundation Red Carpet Arrivals
As has been the case previously, the charity gala was presented by Audi AG in conjunction with the premium partners the Verband der Privaten Krankenversicherung (PKV) and MAC Cosmetics. Private Health Association PKV donated €300 000, with Audi contributing an additional €250 000 and MAC Cosmetics generously donating an enormous €500 000.
All partner contributions directly support the work of the German AIDS Foundation. Additional Sponsors are Allgemeiner Grund & Boden Fundus, Eltec Group, Gorgeous Smiling Hotels, HGHI Holdings as well as Douglas. All partners emphasize their social responsibility as well as their cultural and social engagement for people with HIV and AIDS.
The German AIDS Foundation is the largest AIDS charity organisation in Germany which directly supports people affected. For more than 30 years the organisation supports needy people with HIV and AIDS by supporting projects like assisted living, qualification measures or recovery. Moreover, the foundation supports several helping and prevention projects, especially for migrants and/or refugees. Since 2000 the German AIDS Foundation supports selected aid programs in South Africa as well.
AIDS is still a serious pandemic which leads to death for many patients. More than 2 million people become infected every year. The treatment is costly and not available globally for almost half of the infected people. Approximately 85.000 people with HIV/AIDS live in Germany, and many suffer from social stigmatization and social plight.
Additional information: www.operngala.berlin and www.aids-stiftung.de
Donations: Berliner Sparkasse, IBAN: DE 14 1005 0000 0190 4044 00 BIC: BELADEBEXXX
Images: Franziska Krug
