Press Release 9th September 2024

“Where does my food come from?” - BILLA and ernte.dank.festival inform

From September 6 to 8, the harvest.thanks.festival of the Ecosocial Forum took place at Heldenplatz in Vienna. Numerous people accepted the invitation to celebrate Austria's diversity in the areas of agriculture, cuisine and culture every day. The festival focused on the question “Where does my food actually come from?”. BILLA was represented with a MARKETplace, which served as a central point of contact for visitors with a “Get Together Area” and interactive market stalls.

A lively outdoor festival with people walking around booths under a large, suspended canopy. The sky is blue with scattered clouds, and trees border the grassy area.

BILLA MARKTplatz at the ernte.dank.festival 2024 / Copyright: © BILLA AG / Robert Harson - Abdruck zu redaktionellen Zwecken honorarfrei, Reproduction for PR purposes free of charge

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At a glance

Tens of thousands of visitors, including 600 schoolchildren, took the opportunity to take part in the ernte.dank.festival on Vienna's Heldenplatz.
BILLA offered interactive market stalls under the motto ‘Gratitude that tastes good. Experience the abundance of our regions’, where visitors could find out about local food production.
The harvest thanksgiving procession with a harvest blessing by cathedral priest Toni Faber, the beer tapping by Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer and visits by Federal Minister Leonore Gewessler and Federal Minister Norbert Totschnig were among the highlights.

Under the motto ‘Gratitude that tastes good’, children and adults were able to experience regionality at the BILLA stands and learn interesting facts about local agriculture and sustainable food production in a playful way. The journey of the food from the field to the plate was made comprehensible.

As part of the festival programme, the numerous visitors had a wide range of activities to choose from, ranging from enjoying regional products to getting active themselves - such as sawing or milking. A special themed trail with 50 young agricultural scouts was organised for 600 Viennese schoolchildren to teach them about the value of agriculture and nutrition. Saturday ended with a festive stage programme with a beer tapping by Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer, a visit by the Federal Minister for the Environment and Climate Protection, Leonore Gewessler, and interviews with the partners.

Marcel Haraszti, CEO of REWE International AG: ‘The ernte.dank.festival is a wonderful opportunity to emphasise the importance of regional products and sustainable agriculture. In this way, we can make a significant contribution to raising awareness for young and old alike.’ On Sunday, the 70th anniversary of the Austrian Rural Youth was celebrated during an anniversary mass in St Stephen's Cathedral with cathedral priest Toni Faber. The subsequent harvest thanksgiving procession to Heldenplatz with Federal Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, Norbert Totschnig, was the highlight at the end of the festival. BILLA was represented on site by the Management Board members Robert Nagele (Real Estate), Michael Paterno (Consumer), Brian Beck (Wholesale and Merchants), Erich Szuchy (Category Management / Purchasing) and Andreas Steidl (Managing Director Ja! Natürlich) as well as Marcel Haraszti (CEO REWE International AG).