The Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert is on Friday 1 January 2027 at 11:15 in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, conducted for the first time by Tugan Sokhiev. The same programme is played twice before: at the Preview Performance on 30 December 2026 at 11:00 and at the New Year's Eve Concert on 31 December at 19:30. Tickets for all three were allocated by an online lottery in February 2026, and prices run from €25 to €1,320. The ball season runs alongside: Vienna holds more than 450 balls a year, and the most famous, the Vienna Opera Ball, is on Thursday 4 February 2027.
If you don't have a concert ticket or a ball invitation, there is still plenty to do. The free New Year's Eve Trail (Silvesterpfad) fills the old town on 31 December, the concert is broadcast live on 1 January, and many balls sell tickets to the public. This guide covers all three, with the 2026/27 dates and prices and how a visitor can take part.
The New Year's Concert 2027: who conducts?
The Vienna Philharmonic announced on 1 January 2026 that Tugan Sokhiev will conduct the 2027 New Year's Concert, his first time on that podium. The orchestra says its connection with him goes back to 2009, when he conducted it on a tour of Asia with a stop in Seoul. In 2025 he conducted the orchestra's open-air Summer Night Concert at Schönbrunn for the first time. He was music director and chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow from 2014 to 2022.
The programme is traditionally built on the music of the Strauss family and their contemporaries; check the orchestra's website for the 2027 programme.
The Musikverein building on Karlsplatz at night, home of the Vienna Philharmonic. Image: Bohao Zhao, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Dates, times and ticket prices
The orchestra plays the same programme three times:
- Preview Performance: Wednesday 30 December 2026 at 11:00. Tickets €25 to €545.
- New Year's Eve Concert: Thursday 31 December 2026 at 19:30. Tickets €30 to €980.
- New Year's Concert: Friday 1 January 2027 at 11:15. Tickets €40 to €1,320.
All three are in the Golden Hall (Goldener Saal) of the Musikverein. The Preview Performance is the cheapest way to hear the full programme in the hall.
How do you get tickets for the New Year's Concert?
Only through the Vienna Philharmonic's own online lottery. For the 2026/27 concerts, registration was open from 1 to 28 February 2026; winners and unsuccessful applicants were told by email in March. You could apply for up to two tickets for the New Year's Concert and up to four each for the Preview Performance and the New Year's Eve Concert. There is no waiting list, so you need to apply again each year.
The 2026/27 lottery has closed. If you want to go to the 2027/28 concerts, watch the orchestra's website for the next registration window. The orchestra states that the lottery is the only way to get tickets and strongly advises against buying them on ticket platforms or the secondary market.
How to watch the New Year's Concert on TV
The concert is broadcast live from the Musikverein on 1 January 2027 from 11:15. ORF broadcasts it in Austria, and it reaches other countries through the European Broadcasting Union and the orchestra's media partners, among them NHK in Japan, CMG in China and PBS station WNET in the United States. Several Vienna hotels hold New Year's Day brunches with a live screening of the concert; book early if you want one.
The Vienna ball season 2027
Vienna holds more than 450 balls a year. The season opens on 11 November with a public waltz on the Graben and peaks in January and February. Some balls are run by professions and trades (confectioners, coffeehouse owners, doctors, lawyers, hunters), some by orchestras and universities, and some by charities. Many sell tickets to the public.
The Vienna Philharmonic Ball in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. Image: No machine-readable author provided. PAKES86 assumed (based on copyright claims), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
A ball usually starts with an opening ceremony: debutante couples, the young women in white, dance a polonaise, and then the master of ceremonies calls "Alles Walzer!" ("Everybody waltz!") and the floor opens to all guests. Around midnight there is often a quadrille. In the Fledermaus quadrille by Johann Strauss, guests dance to the calls of dance teachers, so you can join in without knowing the steps.
Ball calendar 2026/27
Dates from Vienna Tourism's ball calendar:
- Chimney Sweepers' Ball: 13 November 2026
- New Year's Eve Gala: 31 December 2026, Vienna City Hall
- Confectioners' Ball: 14 January 2027
- Flower Ball: 15 January 2027, Vienna City Hall
- Vienna Philharmonic Ball: 21 January 2027, Musikverein
- Coffeehouse Owners' Ball: 22 January 2027, Hofburg
- Ball of Industry and Technology: 23 January 2027, Musikverein
- Vienna Ball of Sciences: 23 January 2027, Vienna City Hall
- Hunters' Ball: 25 January 2027, Hofburg
- Doctors' Ball: 30 January 2027, Hofburg
- Vienna Opera Ball: 4 February 2027, Vienna State Opera
- Lawyers' Ball: 6 February 2027, Hofburg
- Ukrainian Charity Ball: 11 February 2027, Hofburg
"Court Ball in Vienna", Wilhelm Gause's painting of a ball at the imperial court around 1900. Image: Wilhelm Gause, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Vienna Opera Ball 2027
The Opera Ball turns the Vienna State Opera into a ballroom for one night. It takes place on Thursday 4 February 2027, with about 5,000 guests. The evening, as Vienna Tourism describes it:
- 20:40: ball guests are admitted.
- 22:00: the opening ceremony, about 50 minutes long, with a fanfare, the anthems, the entrance of the debutante committee of about 150 young couples, and performances by the State Opera's singers and ballet. The opening waltz is "The Blue Danube".
- Midnight: the midnight quadrille, repeated at 2:00 and 4:00.
- 5:00: the ball ends.
The debutante committee lined up for the opening of the Vienna Opera Ball, with the State Opera's boxes behind. Image: Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Opera Ball tickets and prices
Tickets are sold only by the Opera Ball Office of the Vienna State Opera; there are no other points of sale, and tour operators and resellers are not considered. Prices for 2027 as listed by Vienna Tourism; confirm them with the Opera Ball Office before you budget:
- Entrance ticket: €435 (up to four per person). This gets you in but does not include a seat.
- Table seat: €665, including the entrance ticket (up to six per person).
- Boxes: from €15,000 to €27,000 per box or box table, for about 6 to 12 people.
- Spectator tickets: €110 to €290, on top of an entrance ticket or table seat, for seats in the spectator rows or standing room.
Entrance tickets were allocated by a raffle, with registration from 1 to 5 June 2026; table seats went on sale on 24 June 2026, first come, first served. The raffle for 2027 has closed. Being drawn only gives you the right to buy tickets. If you missed out, the whole opening ceremony is broadcast on television, and other balls are far easier to get into.
The State Opera's ballet performing at the opening ceremony of the Opera Ball. Image: Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
What to wear to a Viennese ball
Ball dress in Vienna is formal.
- Opera Ball: women must wear a long, floor-length evening dress; men must wear a black tailcoat with a white bow tie and black patent-leather shoes.
- Traditional balls, especially at the Hofburg: a long evening gown for women, a tuxedo or tails for men.
- Other balls: check the organiser's website. Some smaller or newer balls are less strict, but a long dress and a dinner jacket are always safe.
How can a visitor go to a Viennese ball?
- Pick a ball from Vienna Tourism's ball calendar. Popular balls can sell out, so buy as early as the organiser allows.
- Buy tickets from the organiser's own website. Many balls, the Opera Ball among them, sell an entrance ticket and, separately, table seats. Without a table you can still dance, but you will have nowhere to sit.
- Learn the basics. You do not need to be an expert, but a left-turning Viennese waltz is the dance you will meet most. On 31 December the New Year's Eve Trail has free waltz workshops on the Graben.
- Plan for a long night. Balls go on into the early morning; the Opera Ball ends at 5:00.
The New Year's Eve ball in the Hofburg, with debutantes in white around the dance floor. Image: Figaro Hofrat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Silvesterpfad: New Year's Eve in the old town
On 31 December 2026, from 14:00 until 02:00, the Wiener Silvesterpfad (New Year's Eve Trail) turns the inner city into a street party. Admission is free. It runs from Freyung through Graben, Stephansplatz and Kärntner Strasse to Neuer Markt, with more stages on Rathausplatz and at Riesenradplatz in the Prater. There are show stages on Stephansplatz, Freyung and Graben, waltz workshops on the Graben, and public viewing at the State Opera. The most recent edition, for New Year 2026, drew about 550,000 people.
The Silvesterpfad on the Graben, with the plague column and the street's chandelier lights. Image: C.Stadler/Bwag, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At midnight, the Pummerin, the great bell of St Stephen's Cathedral, rings in the new year; the sound is broadcast on radio and television. Then "The Blue Danube" is played, and people dance the first waltz of the year in the street.
The Pummerin, the great bell of St Stephen's Cathedral, which rings in the new year. Image: Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Rules: fireworks and firecrackers are banned at the Silvesterpfad and throughout the city, and offenders are fined. Come on foot or by public transport, and expect access to the inner-city stages to be through set entry points once the barriers are up.
Other ways to spend New Year's Eve in Vienna
- Die Fledermaus: the Vienna State Opera performs Johann Strauss's operetta on New Year's Eve in its traditional production.
- New Year's Eve Gala at City Hall: a ball in the Rathaus for those who want to see the new year in to a waltz.
- New Year's Eve Concert: the Vienna Philharmonic's 31 December performance at 19:30, if you were lucky in the lottery.
Tips for visiting
- Book early: Hotels fill up for New Year's Eve and for the big ball nights. Book as soon as you know your dates.
- Getting around: The old town is easiest on foot. On New Year's Eve, use public transport and avoid driving into the centre.
- Weather: Late December and early February are cold in Vienna. Bring a warm coat for the Silvesterpfad, and for balls, a coat you can check at the cloakroom.
- Check the dates: The details above come from the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna State Opera's Opera Ball Office, Vienna Tourism and the City of Vienna. Check them again before you travel, as details can change.
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