Vienna City Marathon 2026 kicks off with a unique concert
On the weekend of 18 and 19 April 2026, Vienna will be transformed into the stage for the Vienna City Marathon (VCM). One thing is already clear: the VCM will not only be a sporting event, but also a musical one. On the day before the big race, the Wiener Symphoniker and the VCM are organising a Concert at the Marathon. What's special: Musicians among the runners will have the unique opportunity to perform together with the renowned orchestra on stage in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein.
Under the direction of Tobias Wögerer, himself an enthusiastic marathon runner, waltzes, marches and polkas by Johann and Josef Strauss, Franz Lehár, Johann Schrammel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johannes Brahms will be performed. Vienna Symphony Orchestra and runners united in one orchestra!
The concert with this sporty symphonic line-up will take place on Saturday, 18 April 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Marathon runners, who are able to play a musical instrument, can already apply to the Wiener Symphoniker to take part. Registration for the Vienna City Marathon (from 3 pm) and ticket sales for the marathon concert have also started.
'With this project, the day before the Vienna City Marathon will be a festive start for a community that pushes boundaries and celebrates musical and sporting excellence,' says Jan Nast, Director of the Wiener Symphoniker.
One of the places in the orchestra and on the starting line is already taken: Aaron Gruen, Austria's marathon record holder and excellent cellist, will be running a marathon on home soil for the first time at the Vienna City Marathon 2026 - and would also like to take part in the concert. The 26-year-old was the first Austrian to break the 2:10 marathon mark this year in March with a time of 2:09:53 near New York: "I'm really looking forward to my start at the Vienna City Marathon. Maybe even a new Austrian record is possible. The chance to be on stage with the Wiener Symphoniker at the Musikverein makes the VCM 2026 unique. I'm looking forward to being there and hope to be able to play at least a few pieces."
Gruen, whose family had to flee Vienna to the USA in 1939 to escape the Nazi regime, has been an Austrian citizen since 2024. The link between the marathon and music in his grandfather's birthplace gives his start at the VCM a significance that goes beyond sport.
VCM Managing Director Dominik Konrad emphasises: "Music and sport are unifying and are understood all over the world. By combining the marathon and classical music, we have been showcasing Vienna's strengths for many years. The marathon concert and Aaron Gruen's participation in 2026 express this in a special way."
VCM Managing Director Kathrin Widu says: "The Vienna City Marathon is a run through the world capital of music. Together with the Wiener Symphoniker and the runners, we make Vienna resound in a classical way - but modern music also plays a central role. Together with our participants and fans, we will create an unmistakable sound that will fill the city on the day of the marathon. This creates a rousing atmosphere in a new era of running, in which many young people in particular are running marathons. We want to contribute to bringing this diversity to the world."
Conductor Tobias Wögerer emphasises the similarities between running and music: "The marathon concert shows that music and sport are not opposites, but complement each other in a wonderful way. Endurance, discipline, willpower and passion are among the prerequisites for sporting and musical success. But the right breathing technique, a good sense of rhythm and mental strength are also essential. All of this is brought to the stage by all participants, making the concert the finish line - a place of emotion, effort and fulfilment. Regardless of origin or ability, at the marathon concert, making music together will impress, inspire and move the audience."
Jan Nast, Managing Director of the Wiener Symphoniker, addresses the social significance of the collaboration: "The Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna City Marathon characterise Vienna and attract an audience that is inspired by top performances every year. The fact that the orchestra can now perform together with runners from the marathon on the stage of the Musikverein Wien opens a new chapter in the history of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and shows how indispensable these two cultural assets are for society."
Aaron Gruen in a video message sent from the USA, where he is about to start studying medicine at Harvard: "Running and music are two things that characterise my life. I've been playing the cello since I was four years old. Music has always been more than a hobby. It was an expression, a balance, a different world for me. Running was added later, almost like a counterbalance. It soon became more intense, a second passion. I realised that running and music have a lot in common. Both require stamina, discipline, but also creativity, whether it's a difficult passage on the cello or a difficult workout while running. That's why I'm really looking forward to taking part in the Vienna City Marathon 2026. I'm looking forward to the audience, I'm looking forward to the course and the people in Vienna who will be cheering me on. It's a great honour for me to run for Austria. I want to live on what my grandparents used to experience in Vienna: a time of gratitude, a time full of great moments, music, culture, youth. I want to show that a lot can happen in the future. I am proud to be Austrian. Not despite the past, but in honour of what my family once was and what it can be again in the future. I'm incredibly excited about the race, the people, the city - everything that will make this marathon on 19 April 2026 so special."
