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Philippine Foreign Minister Maria Theresa Lazaro will attend this year’s Vienna Opera Ball as a guest in the lodge rented by Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl‑Reisinger. The visit highlights the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Austria and the Philippines and recalls a historic appearance by former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos nearly five decades ago.
Before the ball on Thursday evening, Meinl‑Reisinger and Lazaro are scheduled to meet representatives of the Philippine community at the Foreign Ministry. According to the ministry, the invitation is intended as a “special sign of appreciation and of the close human and economic ties between Austria and the Philippines.” Since the 1970s, the contribution of the Philippine community—particularly in the care sector—has been described as “invaluable.”
Following in Imelda Marcos’s Footsteps
Lazaro’s appearance at the Opera Ball evokes memories of Imelda Marcos’s high‑profile visit in 1979. Invited by the City of Vienna and accompanied by then‑Cultural Councillor and later Mayor Helmut Zilk, Marcos attended the event with her 18‑year‑old daughter. Contemporary reports described the First Lady in a gold evening gown, while her daughter opted for a “silver look.” During that multi‑day visit, Austria and the Philippines also signed a bilateral trade agreement.
Imelda Marcos, mother of current Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., became a controversial global figure.
Diplomatic Guests in the Opera Ball Lodges
While the Austrian president and chancellor traditionally have complimentary honorary boxes, other government members use the chancellor’s lodge. This year, Vice Chancellor and Culture Minister Andreas Babler, Infrastructure Minister Peter Hanke (both SPÖ), and State Secretaries Elisabeth Zehetner and Alexander Pröll (ÖVP) are expected to attend. Chancellor Karlheinz Stocker will miss the event due to the EU summit.
Meinl‑Reisinger is the only cabinet member to have rented a private lodge, which the ministry confirmed costs €26,000 and is paid from the minister’s representation budget. In addition to Lazaro, she will host Albanian Foreign Minister Elisa Spiropali, her own husband, the Philippine ambassador, the Albanian UN ambassador, and members of her cabinet and protocol staff.
Her predecessors have also used the Opera Ball for diplomatic outreach. Former Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg booked a lodge once during his five‑year tenure, in 2024, for his Belgian and Finnish counterparts. Former FPÖ Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl attended both Opera Balls during her term with a foreign guest—Bulgaria’s Ekaterina Zakharieva in 2018 and Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček in 2019.
On February 10, 2026, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda during her participation in the “Conference on the 25th anniversary of Women, Peace and Security: Women as Agents for Security and Peace” held at the Austrian National Library in Vienna, Austria. Secretary Lazaro was among the distinguished high-level officials invited by Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria Beate Meinl-Reisinger.
- source: vienna.at/picture: Philippine Embassy, Vienna
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