Two Activists Face Trial over Salzburg Festival Protest Passes

Two women involved in a protest at the opening of the 2025 Salzburg Festival have been charged with document forgery over the passes allegedly used to enter the event.

The defendants, aged 36 and 57, declined diversionary arrangements and are expected to face proceedings in the district court. A hearing date has not yet been set. Two other people resolved their cases through diversion involving financial payments, with those decisions becoming final in October.

The underlying protest took place at the Felsenreitschule on 26 July 2025. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators interrupted a speech by Austrian vice-chancellor Andreas Babler and displayed banners during the festival’s opening ceremony.

The disputed passes used the wording Salzburger Festspeiben, a parody of the festival’s name. Activists argue that the alteration was obviously satirical; the prosecution treats the documents as forged credentials. That disagreement lies at the centre of the legal issue and should not be collapsed into a finding of guilt before trial.

Several participants reportedly entered dressed as stage workers, with assistance linked to a former employee. The incident subsequently prompted tighter security arrangements at the festival.

The present charges concern the documents and access to the event. They are distinct from a general judgment on the political views expressed by the protesters, and from unrelated proceedings involving other demonstrations. A charge is an allegation to be tested by the court, not a conviction.

For the festival, the case follows an intervention that exposed the vulnerability of a high-profile ceremonial event. For the defendants, the forthcoming hearing will determine how the altered passes are assessed in law. The immediate development is the move towards trial for two participants, while other cases connected with the incident have already taken a different procedural route.