BonbonBall Saint Petersburg

The pink ball night on the banks of the River Neva

Saint Petersburg is the Venice of the east. It is the town of the tsars, art monuments and the origin of the Russian revolution. It doesn’t matter if you call it Petersburg or Leningrad, this four million metropolis has never lost its fascination and vibrancy. The Hermitage, the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the famous Amber Room in the Catherine Palace or the “white nights” – a wonder of nature which lasts from Mai until July. Saint Petersburg is always in good season and it is called the most European city of Russia.

The Neva metropolis could celebrate another very big step towards the west on May, 19 with a world premiere.
The first time in the 55 years lasting history of the traditional Viennese BonbonBall the borders of the Danube metropolis have been crossed and the first stop has been made in Saint Petersburg. The organizer of the ball, Mr. Alphonsus, and his team worked for months on this “lifelong dream” and they succeeded: In the honourable Alexandrine Theatre has been celebrated a festival of the superlative with Viennese charm and Russian perfection.

Saint Petersburg could enjoy the wonder of nature of a “pink night“ – a night as pink as candy of which people will talk a long time. “Petersburg and Vienna have a long tradition of balls in common, just in Saint Petersburg it was interrupted for almost 70 years. It was my idea to revive this tradition once again,” says the patron of the ball Mr. Heinz Alphonsus about his motivation to organize the first BonbonBall out of Vienna on the banks of the Neva River in Saint Petersburg. The pollster Mr. Brettschneider, who was also an impressed guest of the ball, could affirm, that this was a clever move, “Russian people know how to have a good time, you just have to give them the possibility.” The vice governor took over the patronage of the ball and was more than thankful about this sweet idea from Vienna, “Our two cities are going to intense their contacts on an economic but on top of that on a human and amicable level.”

Despite the heavy rain the 1500 guests enjoyed the atmosphere of the sold out ball in the traditional theatre. Most impressing was the cultural programme which was presented to the guests. There have been ballet performances of the ensemble of the world famous Mariinsky Theatre and sounds of waltz from the symphonic orchestra of Saint Petersburg. At the end even the sky cleared up over Saint Petersburg and grandiose fireworks let the theatre gleam in the most beautiful colours.
The highlight of this premiere, though, was like every year in Vienna the election of the first Russian Miss Bonbon. In the course of the evening more than 90 Russian beauties faced up to a severe jury. And the winner was the 18-years-old student Marsha Kozlova from Saint Petersburg who convinced and impressed the jury and the acting Miss Bonbon 2004, Katharina Waldorf, not only with her beautiful appearance but also with her perfect dancing skills.

“It’s like a dream. I hope I don’t wake up tomorrow and must see… that it was a dream” says the beautiful lady hardly believing her election of the Miss Bonbon. A little bit more realistically said Billy Riedl, who is coproprietor of MANNER and one of the main sponsors of the BonbonBall, “This is a Miss who deserves the title. We are going to invite her next year to Vienna and this will be difficult requirements for the next Miss Bonbon 2005 in Vienna.”

As result of the “experiment” of a BonbonBall in Saint Petersburg we can say that it was more than a success! And next year there will be another BonbonBall in Saint Petersburg. A Viennese tradition has captured the heart of the people of Saint Petersburg with its charm, creativity and persuasive power. In the future, too, Mr. Heinz Alphonsus and his team want to colour one of the famous “white nights” in a sweet pink.
Thank you for realizing this innovative, unifying and brave idea!

Claudio Honsal

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