The theme for next year's Life Ball in Vienna - an annual event dedicated to spreading awareness of HIV and AIDS - will be Ver Sacrum (Sacred Spring).
The inspiration for the event comes from both the religious practice from ancient Rome and the title of the magazine of the Vienna Secession art movement which was founded by artists like Gustav Klimt and Wiener Werkstätte designer Koloman Moser.
The Life Ball will take place on May 16th at Vienna’s City Hall, just before the Eurovision Song Contest on May 19th, 21st and 23rd.
Change, renewal and improvement will be the main topics for Life Ball 2015 which runs under the motto To every age its battle. To every battle its setting sun. The word 'battle' stands for the fight against the stigma associated with HIV disease and the social exclusion of infected people.
A charity auction in aid of The Life Ball will be held on December 8th at Sotheby's in New York - with teddy bears designed by Elton John, Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn and Karl Lagerfeld on offer. The money will help support HIV-positive children in the South African province of KwaZulu Natal.
Meanwhile, World Aids day is being marked on December 1st by a series of events across the globe. According to UNAIDS there are around 35 million people living with HIV worldwide. One out of every two people in the world living with HIV, the virus which causes Aids, do not know that they have it.
The main barrier to testing and treatment is stigmatisation.
According to Aids Hilfe Wien around 10,000 to 15,000 people in Austria are living with HIV or Aids. Last year there were 481 new cases diagnosed, this year there are between 400 and 420.
HIV was first identified by scientists more than 30 years ago.