Salzburg: A Drag Hotspot
Photo: Jaron Steimle
The drag scene has been gaining a foothold in Mozart’s city for years – from divas enjoying brunch and bingo nights to drag shows on the city’s major stages. These days, not a month goes by without seeing various drag artists singing, dancing and hosting events.
Salzburg is a cultural hub. It is internationally renowned for its festivals (Easter, Whitsun, Summer) and for classical music, all in honour of the city’s most famous son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Every year, people from all over the world are drawn to this city on the River Salzach to experience its cultural highlights.
But Salzburg is much more than just Mozart and the Festival. Over the last few years, a diverse and exciting drag scene has established itself here. There’s the glamorous drag icon Gigi La Pajette, who has been bringing drag art to Salzburg with her creative ideas since 2020.
Or the drag collective Magic Garage, which was founded in 2022 and now boasts some extraordinary talents among its ranks. Drag queens from further afield, such as Metamorkid and Grazia Patricia (both from Vienna), also enjoy coming to Salzburg for guest performances.
Why does Salzburg seem to be such a welcoming place for drag queens and kings? Who are the drag artists actively shaping the scene in Salzburg? What are their personal experiences? What was their first public performance in drag? How much work and time does it take to go from an idea to the big performance? How do they view their role as prominent figures of the queer scene? Over the next three Fridays, we’ll be exploring these and other questions, revealing the stories behind the drag performers and how they present drag art in Salzburg.
The drag scene in Salzburg has grown steadily and become increasingly diverse in recent years. This is a development of which Salzburg can be proud, as it broadens the city’s cultural offering – cementing Salzburg’s reputation as a drag stronghold.
An article by Peter Goebel and Sebastian Brandstätter
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