What is the name of Vienna's famous classical concert broadcast worldwide on New Year's Day?

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Vienna's famous classical concert broadcast worldwide on New Year's Day is the Vienna New Year's Concert.

The concert is performed by the Vienna Philharmonic in the Musikverein's Golden Hall. Its program is especially associated with music by the Strauss family, including waltzes and polkas, although other composers can also appear. The event traditionally concludes with the Blue Danube waltz and the Radetzky March, with the audience clapping along to the latter.

The first concert in the series took place on January 1, 1941, during the Second World War. Clemens Krauss conducted the early concerts, and the Vienna Philharmonic later developed the event into an international television tradition. Conductors rotate, so the conductor is not a permanent part of the concert's name.

The event is frequently called the New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic. It is held on New Year's Day, not New Year's Eve, even though it forms part of the season's celebrations.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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