City of Vienna warns against fraud: Lantern festival in the city park without permission!

City of Vienna warns against fraud: Lantern festival in the city park without permission!

A worrying event is causing a stir in the heart of Vienna. The planned lantern festival in the city park, where thousands of lanterns are supposed to rise into the night sky, is not only a visual delight in prospect, but also a potential risk for consumers. Countless street food and live music were promised as accompaniment, but the city of Vienna strongly warns against purchasing tickets for this event. The reason? The event was never officially registered and there are suspicions of fraud, such as the press reported.

The platform on which the tickets are sold is the website lanternfestosterreich.com. The city of Vienna then sounded the alarm bells because the website was classified as dubious. Interested buyers should be careful because there are no clear legal notices and parts of the site are not even in German. In addition, incorrect location information can be found in the graphics. It's quite possible that someone is trying to make a good deal here with dubious intentions, and let's be honest: this doesn't sound like an event you want to miss, as long as everything goes on properly.

Risks for buyers

The situation is made particularly critical by the fact that the City of Vienna was not informed about the event. The Lantern Festival is scheduled to take place on four dates in October 2025, but this is not possible without official approval. Buyers of tickets for this event are therefore well advised not to pass on their data and money to unknown providers. “Do not buy tickets and do not give out any personal information,” advises the City of Vienna on their website. Payments to suspicious providers should also be avoided.

For anyone who is unsure, support is available from consumer advice centers. You can get an initial assessment there, but this does not replace individual legal advice the consumer advice center explained. In cases of doubt, it is advisable to seek legal advice. It's a shame, because a lantern festival could be a wonderful opportunity for the Viennese to relax and celebrate, but safety comes first.

The Vienna City Service is available to deal with suspected cases and can be contacted on +43 1 4000-4001. It remains to be hoped that the situation will calm down and the organizers will obtain the necessary permits so that the city of Vienna can soon celebrate a wonderful lantern festival in the park again - but only if everything is in order.