Sport in Vienna

Sport in Vienna - watch, join in the excitement, get active yourself

Vienna is known for its coffee, culture and a certain philosophical serenity towards life. Less well known, but absolutely real: the city has a lively sports scene that goes far beyond the Vienna City Marathon and provides sporting events throughout the year where real excitement is guaranteed. Because sport in Vienna is not just about taking part, but also about watching, cheering on and getting excited at a level you wouldn't necessarily expect. Anyone looking for a regular soccer atmosphere is well catered for in Vienna: SK Rapid Vienna welcomes its opponents to the modern Allianz Stadium in Hütteldorf, which has a capacity of almost 29,000 and creates an atmosphere that makes soccer experiences in other cities look pale. FK Austria Wien, on the other hand, play in the Generali Arena in the 10th district, and anyone who has ever experienced a Vienna derby live will understand why this rivalry has been stirring emotions for decades. Both clubs regularly play their home games in the Austrian Bundesliga throughout the season, which means that from fall to spring, matchday atmosphere in the city is actually a permanent condition. For international matches and international highlights, the Ernst Happel Stadium in the Prater is the first port of call, Austria's largest soccer stadium with a capacity of around 50,000 spectators and a grandstand setting that leaves an impression even on non-football fans. But Vienna doesn't stop at soccer. As one of the most important multifunctional arenas in Europe, the Wiener Stadthalle regularly hosts international sporting events: Boxing evenings, tennis events, martial arts and indoor sports take place here in front of sold-out audiences and show just how broad the range of sports on offer in this city is. If you want to get active yourself instead of just watching, Vienna also offers a dense network of sporting opportunities: From running laps along the Danube Canal to beach volleyball events in summer and ice skating in winter on the legendary Vienna Ice Dream in front of City Hall, which attracts hundreds of thousands of skaters every year from January to March. Incidentally, the Vienna City Marathon is one of these recurring sporting events that transforms the entire city into a huge public viewing event for amateur runners and proves anew every year that running also works as a spectator sport. In short: sport in Vienna is not a fringe program, but an integral part of city life, bringing exciting encounters, competitions and athletic spectacles to the event calendar week after week. Take a look, find your next sporting event and then: Rausgegangen.