Vienna will splash the cash on lighting its famous Christmas markets to bring some festive cheer to struggling retailers. Chandeliers, twinkling stars and glittering red globes are among the designs lighting up 31 Viennese streets from Friday, as the capital ramps up spending on lighting at the end of the year as Austria’s economy falters.
“It’s just beautiful. It makes the city as a whole a little more beautiful,” 23-year-old student Ekaterina Baranovska told AFP. With local businesses increasingly unable to fork over the sums needed to maintain Christmas lights, Vienna and its economic chamber will cover 75 percent instead of 50 percent of this year’s costs, or about 700,000 euros ($740,000) for the lighting alone.
Vienna fires up Christmas markets amid economic struggles
The small Alpine country’s economic outlook has been bleak since mid-2022, particularly as it faces difficulties from neighboring Germany, its main trading partner. “We want to have a beautifully lit city, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for entrepreneurs to cover these costs,” Dieter Steup, a representative of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, told AFP. “It’s very important because the run-up to Christmas is a really important time for retailers,” he said, adding that people enjoy shopping under Christmas lights more.
Green lighting
Stored in a large warehouse on the outskirts of Vienna, workers began putting up the massive Christmas light motifs weeks before the switch was flicked. To reduce the impact on the climate, LED lights have been introduced in Vienna in recent years, and the electricity needed to flash the displays from November to January comes from renewable sources. This energy is roughly equivalent to the energy consumed by one 14-apartment house in a year.
“The cost is actually relatively low compared to what you get in return, which is a good atmosphere and a great shopping atmosphere,” Staup added. Activist group Greenpeace also said that consumer behaviour, including buying unnecessary presents, contributes more to the Christmas season’s carbon footprint, while lights are “hardly significant”.
In a 2022 survey, 64 percent of Austrians said that holiday light displays created a “nice, Christmas atmosphere” for them. In 2022, when the cost of electricity skyrocketed due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Christmas lights were turned off two hours early to save electricity. But from 2023, the displays will sparkle again until midnight.
