The magic of numbers was celebrated at ÖAG headquarters in Vienna on January 21, 2026: 80 years Austrian-American Society (ÖAG), 250 years signing of the Declaration of Independence, 5 regional ÖAG associations (Salzburg, Tyrol, Carinthia, Upper Austria, and Styria), 300 guests, 2 ambassadors – the newly appointed US Ambassador to Austria, Art Fisher, and the Austrian Ambassador to the US, Petra Schneebauer, present online from Washington DC. Martin Weiss, former Austrian Ambassador to the US, presented further numbers in terms of significances since 1946 –especially the Marshall Plan, Fulbright, and the Salzburg Seminar, and finally Hotel Sacher, the first location of the ÖAG, offered 60 kg of Sachertorte.

Despite the emphasis on numbers, Cesár Sampson, Austria’s 2018 Eurovision song contest representative, indicated through his song “Nobody But You” that numbers don’t always (only sometimes) matter, but more importantly engagement and connections always do. President of ÖAG Styria, Roberta Maierhofer, agreed.