ESCToday in collaboration with Vienna Tourist Board (Wien.info) will be bringing you a series of articles leading up to the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in order to showcase and introduce the 2015 Eurovision host city Vienna to our readers. After Barcelona,  ViennaSphere has landed in the romantic French capital city of Paris and will stay there until 28 March, after which it will  be travelling to London,Milano and Berlin.

The Vienna Tourist Board is hosting a multimedia installation to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the Ringstrasse and the capital’s role as host of the 60^th Eurovision Song Contest. ViennaSphere, an inflatable 360° projection dome that can accommodate up to 500 people. Paris’s Place de Palais Royal will be the second of 5 cities to host this event.

Vienna will be staging a multimedia show in Paris celebrating the 150 Years of the Ringstrasse and the 60^th Eurovision Song Contest.

If you are in Paris you can visit ViennaSphere and enjoy the Viennese experience in the French capital city from 26-28 March. You can also win a trip to Vienna for 2 persons, tickets to the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, accomodation and 2 Vienna Cards.

The ViennaSphere is a multimedia artwork commissioned especially for the Vienna Tourist Board and will mark two important occasions for the city in 2015: 150 Years of the Ringstrasse and the 60th Eurovision Song Contest. Measuring 22 meters in diameter and 20 meters at its highest point, this unique, walk-in 360° projection dome will provide the backdrop for a state-of-the-art audio visual spectacle by Vienna artist collective Neon Golden. ViennaSphere’s semi-transparent skin supports internal and external projections to create an unforgettable, all-encompassing experience. The inspiration comes from different environments found along the Ringstrasse, with the Eurovision Song Contest providing a special highlight.

ViennaSphere Public Opening Hours:

• Thursday 26 March- Saturday 28 March 2015
• 12:00- 18:00 (daytime programme)
•  19:30- 23:00  ( Thursday 26- Friday 27 March) (evening programme)
• 19:30 – 22:00 ( Saturday 28 March) (evening programme)
• Location: Place du Palais Royal- Paris

ViennaSphere daytime programme

ViennaSphere will feature a number of other installations including a tour of Vienna’s showpiece Ringstrasse boulevard using gigapixel virtual reality images of the city. It contains a pair of terminals equipped with Microsoft Kinect technology that allows visitors to take a virtual reality stroll along the Ringstrasse using their body to control their movements. During the day, brochures and flyers will be handed out to passers-by. Admission will be free.

ViennaSphere evening programme

In the evenings ViennaSphere will provide the canvas for a series of impressive 360° projections by Vienna-based artist collective Neon Golden. Lasting around 15-minutes the spectacle showcases the Austrian capital using real images and 3D animations. The installation ends with Conchita Wurst singing Rise Like a Phoenix, the song that saw the artist take the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 for Austria. Every evening the Vienna Tourist Board will be giving away a trip to the Austrian capital for two including tickets for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 23, 2015. Admission is free.

Vienna celebrates 150 Years of the Ringstrasse

On May 1, 1865 Emperor Franz Joseph officially opened Vienna’s Ringstrasse. 150 years later the Austrian capital will mark the showpiece boulevard’s anniversary with numerous exhibitions and special tours. The Ringstrasse is lined with countless sights and a series of parks and monuments.

www.ringstrasse2015.info

www.viennaphoto.com (150 Years of the Ringstrasse button)

60th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna

In 2014 Conchita Wurst won the 59th Eurovision Song Contest for Austria. The 60th Eurovision Song Contest – themed Building Bridges – will take place in Vienna from May 18 to 23, 2015. Nine shows at the Wiener Stadthalle, a Eurovision Village on Rathausplatz and various other events will give the Austrian capital a serious case of Eurovision fever for a whole week, when the world’s largest music competition comes to town.

Vienna-based artist collective Neon Golden

Neon Golden started life in Dornbirn in the province of Vorarlberg, Austria in 2005 as a club-based experimental new media art platform. The group now has 14 members who cover a variety of genres including design, art and programming. Over the years Neon Golden’s main focus has shifted from purely generative live visuals towards a mélange including animations, rediscovered film footage and the kinds of generative works that led to its foundation a decade ago. As well as the pure content, another major feature of the collective’s work is developing complex setups and installations using a broad array of technologies such as projection mapping, LED walls, multi-channel systems, lights and lasers, which when brought together generate a unique experience.

www.neongolden.net

ViennaSphere prize draw in collaboration with Austrian Airlines.

• A trip to Vienna for two people courtesy of Austrian Airlines (CDG – VIE – CDG)
• Two tickets to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015
• Accommodation at a 4* hotel in a double room with breakfast included (May, 22 – May, 24 2015)
• Two Vienna Cards (valid for 48 hours) that provide free travel on public transport and more than 210 discounts across Vienna

ViennaSphere Dates

• Barcelona (19-21 March)- sphere.vienna.info/es
• Paris (26-28  March)- sphere.vienna.info/fr
• London (02-04 April) – wien.info/en/special/sphere
• Milano (10-12 April)- sphere.vienna.info/it
• Berlin (17-19 April)- sphere.vienna.info/de

For more information on Vienna you can visit Wien.info and for the latest news on ESC 2015 in Vienna  ORF’s Eurovision website in German.

Stay tuned to Esctoday.com for the latest news on Vienna, the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.