Niki Lauda is one of the mythical figures in the history of Formula One. His three world titles, won in 1975, 1977 and 1984 respectively, make him the fourth most successful F1 pilot of all time. In his entire career that started in 1971 and ended in 1985 after brief interruptions, Lauda took part in 177 races in Formula One and managed 25 wins. In 1976 on the German Grand Prix race Lauda survived a severe crash, when he was trapped in his burning car and later lapsed into coma due to intoxication. In Formula One Niki Lauda raced for the teams of March, BRM, Ferrari, Brabham and McLaren. After he retired in 1985, the Austrian founded his own airline, Lauda Air, which became part of Austrian Airlines in 1999. In 1993 Niki Lauda was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Currently the former pilot is commentator for F1 races for the German channel RTL.

Hermann Maier is the living legend of the alpine ski sport. He is considered one of the greatest skiers of all time and an extremely strong personality. This earned him the nickname “Herminator”, which he justifies with his extraordinary physical and mental strength. Maier has won the impressive 53 World Cup races and ranks second after Ingemar Stenmark in terms of number of victories. His huge collection of honours includes two Olympic titles in downhill and Super G from the Games in Nagano in 1998, a silver and a bronze Olympic medal from Turin 2006, World Championship titles from Vail 1999 in downhill and Super G and from Bormio 2005 in Giant Slalom, and four overall World Cup titles in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2004. Hermann Maier began his career relatively late due to growth problems during his childhood. His debut in the World Cup circuit was in 1996 and a year later he achieved his first victory. In August 2001 the “Herminator” suffered a life-threatening motorbike accident, in which he almost lost his leg. After a two-year interruption, Maier returned to sports in 2003 and was awarded the Laureus World Sports Award "Comeback of the Year" in 2004.

Renate Goetschl, or the “Speed Queen”, is among the most successful contemporary female athletes worldwide and the third most successful female skier in terms of World Cup victories with 46 races won. Goetschl started her remarkable career in the World Cup in 1993 and achieved two victories in her debut season. Her greatest successes are the three World Championship titles in combined from Sestriere 1997, in downhill from Vail 1999 and in the team event from Are 2007. In addition, the Austrian skier has five small crystal globes in downhill, three in Super G and two in the combined in her collection. With her nine World Championship medals, two Olympic medals and more than 100 podiums in World Cup races Renate Goetschl is the brightest star in the Women’s World Cup today.

Ernst Happel is the most prominent figure on the Austrian football field on account of his career both as a player and coach. He spent 14 years playing for Rapid Vienna, winning 7 times Austrian Championship title, and 2 years for Racing Club de Paris. But Happel is more famous for his honours as a coach, winning the league title in four different countries and silver medal in 1978 World Cup and thus becoming one of the most successful coaches in the history of European and world football. He worked in clubs, such as Feyenoord, Sevilla, Club Brugge and Hamburger SV to say a few among others. After his death in 1992 Praterstadion in Vienna, the biggest football stadium in Austria, was renamed after him in his honour.

Stephan Eberharter is one of the many great Austrian alpine skiers who has won numerous races and thus brought an immense part of Austria’s sport glory in ski sports as a whole. He started participating in World Cup event during the 1989-1990 season and has been most successful in the downhill event with his victory in Kitzbuhel in 2004 being considered as one of the most significant downhill victories in alpine skiing history. Stephan Eberharter won all kinds of prestigious championships – two gold medals at the World Championship in Saalbach in 1991 and one gold medal at the World Championships in St Moritz in 2003, one Olympic gold medal in Salt Lake City in 2002, two overall World Cup titles in 2002 and 2003. He has also a couple of silver and bronze medals from different races of world wide importance. Stephan Eberharter was one of the most respected competitors of his compatriot Hermann Maier, but has now stopped his active career.

If it is true that I have talent, I can thank above all my beloved Vienna for it!

Johann Strauss II, son of a musician Johann Strauss I, captured the spirit of waltz like no other composer before or since. He composed as many as 160 waltzes, two of which - 'Blue Danube Waltz and Champagne Waltz' - became worldwide hits. The latter is a tune from his most famous operetta 'Die Fledermaus' (The Bat, 1874), while'Der Zigeunerbaron' (The Gypsy Baron, 1885) ranks second in order of popularity. His other well-known operetta is 'Indigo and Forty Thieves' (1871). An amazingly prolific composer, Strauss Junior wrote altogether 479 dances and 16 operettas and was successful with his elegant melodies not only among fellow composers, but also among the general public.

I assure you that this is a splendid place [Vienna] – and for my métier the best one in the world.

Probably the most famous composer of all time, Mozart began his musical career as a child prodigy. He performed on violin at the age of four, wrote his first symphony and four sonatas for piano and violin when he was eight, and held the position of a concertmaster at thirteen. Before his premature passing, Mozart composed more than 600 works, among which there are masterpieces in numerous musical forms – concertos, symphonies, ensembles, sonatas, string quartets, ballets and music for church ceremonies. He gained immense fame for his compositions that include 'Piano Sonata No. 11' (1783 or 1778), 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' (1787), the unfinished 'Requiem' (1791), the operas 'The Marriage of Figaro' (1786), 'Don Giovanni' (1787) and 'The Magic Flute' (1791) as well as the 'Jupiter Symphony' (1788), which was his last.

Named the “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quarter”, Haydn was a major composer of the classical era, whose innovative style of writing music deeply influenced both Mozart and Beethoven. He composed over a hundred symphonies, the most noted of them being 'Farewell' (no. 45), 'Surprise' (no. 94), 'Hen' (no. 83) and his final four 'Military', 'Clock', 'Drum Roll' and 'London' (no. 100-103). His ever-popular chamber pieces include 'Lark' (op. 64, no. 5), 'Quinten' (op. 76, no. 2) as well as 'Sunrise' (op. 76, no. 4). Haydn is also the composer of six masses and nine string quarters, for instance 'Kaiserquartett', 'Quintenquintett' and 'Der Sonnenaufgang'. Amongst his oratorios the most outstanding are 'Die Schoepfung' (The Creation, 1798) and 'Die Jahreszeiten' (The Seasons, 1801).