The official rules of the Vienna Opera Ball, verified in August 2026, set the dress for gentlemen: black tailcoat, white shirt, white bow tie, black patent leather shoes, with gala uniform admitted as an option. Ladies wear a floor-length ball gown, in any color; traditional dress and the festive dirndl are expressly excluded. The evening follows a fixed order: entry at 8:15 pm, opening ceremony at 10 pm, the midnight quadrille at midnight, quadrilles at 2 am and 4 am, and the ball ends at 5 am. The 69th edition takes place on Thursday, February 4, 2027. At the Ball of the Wiener Philharmoniker, on Thursday, January 21, 2027 at the Musikverein, the code is the same in spirit: long evening gown and tailcoat required, doors at 9 pm, start at 10 pm, end at 5 am.
On the access side, in 2027 the Opernball entry tickets (€435) are allocated by lottery, whose registration is now closed; what remains are table seats at €665 and boxes from €15,000 to €27,000. For the Philharmoniker ball, individual tickets at €220 go on sale from January 11, 2027. One non-commercial route remains at the Opernball: the opening committee, with free applications until September 16, 2026, as a couple aged 18 to 27 with a command of the left-turning waltz.