International stars including Hollywood actors Sean Penn and Charlize Theron have mingled with revellers in golden, exotic and erotic costumes in Vienna at the Life Ball AIDS charity event.
Other guests included US singer Mary J Blige, former sitcom star Roseanne Barr, Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst, as well as French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, who designed the fashion show that was part of the event.
This year's visual motto was gold, and the ball's opening ceremony in front of Vienna's town hall was a pageant full of ancient Greek and Roman imagery, along with a heavy dose of Art Nouveau in the style of Gustav Klimt.
The ball's Crystal of Hope Award was awarded to Sentebale, a charity catering to children that was founded by Prince Harry and Lesotho's Prince Seeiso.
The prize money of 100,000 euros ($A140,000) will be used to finance Sentebale's efforts in Lesotho, which has the second highest HIV infection rate in the world after South Africa.
Theron used the event to promote her charity project in her native South Africa that focuses on HIV prevention among children and youths.
"We have come so far, yet there are still so many who don't have a voice. HIV thrives in forgotten places," she said.
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