Experiencing the history of the Salzburg Festival with Audi

For the 100th anniversary of the Salzburg Festival in 2020 – and for its 25th anniversary as main sponsor – Audi is inviting festival audiences to take an eventful trip through the story of the festival: on the back seat of an Audi e-tron (combined electrical consumption in kWh/100 km*: 26.4 -22.9 (WLTP); 24.6 -23.7 (NEDC), combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 0 (0 g/mi)), passengers drive to several places that have played a significant part in the history of the festival.

The journey uses a technology developed by Audi to transport visitors into three-dimensional worlds by means of a virtual-reality headset and to integrate the motion of the vehicle into the experience in real time. During the festival, Audi will offer about 1,000 experience rides.

At the 2020 Salzburg Festival Audi connects tradition with innovation. Passengers in an Audi e-tron will experience historical scenes from the festival by means of a VR headset. Musical milestones of different eras are the focus of the VR trip through Salzburg. In real time, the immersive technology combines the displayed content with relevant data from the car such as acceleration and steering, as well as navigation data on the journey route and duration. In this way, besides addressing the visual and acoustic senses, the experience also integrates natural

g-forces.

The innovative VR technology behind it was initiated by Audi and further developed through the tech entertainment start-up holoride. It enables a new type of entertainment format during the journey and moreover provides new opportunities for learning and working while on the road. The motion-synchronized trip through virtual worlds also reduces the motion sickness that often occurs during conventional consumption of visual media. The aim of holoride is to establish this technology in partnership with companies from the automotive and media industries as a new, forward-looking entertainment format. Audi is a co-founder of holoride and has a minority holding in this start-up through its subsidiary Audi Electronics Venture GmbH.

Creativity and competitive edge are what drives both the Salzburg Festival and Audi. This sustained and lively partnership has existed for almost 25 years. As main sponsor, the company supports the festival’s work in staging world-class artistic performances. The annual guest appearance of the Salzburg Festival in Ingolstadt is a highlight of the partnership.