ORF celebrates Rainbow Parade 2025: Criticism of fees and neutrality is growing!

ORF celebrates Rainbow Parade 2025: Criticism of fees and neutrality is growing!

On June 14, 2025, Vienna's Ringstrasse will be all about diversity, as ORF will broadcast Vienna Pride 2025 in an opulent, high-gloss broadcast. The event attracts more than 300,000 participants and is broadcast live on both ORF1 and ORF ON. The prominent cast of moderators and commentators is a central aspect of this comprehensive reporting. Fanny Stapf and Idan Hanin direct the 160-minute live broadcast, while Oliver Polzer and drag queen Grazia Patricia provide the viewers with enthusiastically commented live images.

The technical equipment of the project is remarkable. With SmartCams, drones and a musical mix from FM4, viewers are offered an up-close experience. Live broadcasts bring exciting insights from Budapest, where other Pride events take place. For this complex production, the ORF team will be expanded to include the editorial team under Astrid Brunnbauer and the production team under Christian Zettl.

Public law responsibility and criticism

However, the broadcast also raises questions about the role of the ORF. Originally founded to provide the population with neutral information, the mission is being called into question by political events such as Vienna Pride. Critics complain that such events shift the ORF's neutral information mandate and endanger the credibility of the public media.

This debate is being conducted against the background of growing criticism of the ORF's fee model. Since the introduction of the budget levy, which secures the financing of public broadcasters, there has been increasing skepticism among the population that fees are justified by offering potentially politically colored programs. Those responsible are increasingly faced with pressure to regain the trust of viewers.

The right to basic care

The task of public media is to provide the population with basic information and entertainment, a challenge that affects all public broadcasters. Financing such unique events as Vienna Pride requires that the needs of all social groups, including minorities, be taken into account. This supposed obligation calls into question the correctness of the offer if it is not clearly aligned with the principle of basic service.

Public broadcasting, such as that provided by ARD and ZDF in Germany, aims to reach the entire society and also serve niche topics reports the Heinrich Böll Foundation. In this context, it becomes clear how important it is to find a balance between popular content and specific topics that require high production costs.

Vienna Pride 2025 will be a test case of how well ORF is able to meet these challenges while entertaining and informing its audience. It remains to be seen to what extent the broadcaster will fulfill its role in this important event.