Thomas Muster caused quite a stir and made international headlines with his decision to auction off his most valuable trophies for a good cause. The online auction platform “Aurena”, which waives the usual fee, enabled the 15 exhibits to be auctioned off worldwide. Visitors were able to see the trophies for the first and last time at the Official Tennis Experience; the exhibition and auction have been closed since November 3. On the last day of the auction, the trophies were bid on almost every minute, and in the end the 15 exhibits raised 244,500 euros for the “Ö3 Weihnachtswunder” campaign as part of LICHT INS DUNKEL.
“A sensational result that I would never have expected. My goal was to exceed the highest single donation to date, but the fact that it has now more than doubled exceeds all expectations,” says Thomas Muster enthusiastically. “I'm particularly pleased that we can help so many people who haven't had it so good.”
As expected, the largest sum was raised by the winner's trophy from the 1995 French Open, with which Muster made Austrian sporting history almost 30 years ago. The trophies will be handed over to their new owners personally by Thomas Muster during a meet & greet on the day of the gala for LICHT INS DUNKEL on November 15.
“From day one, the enthusiasm in the 'Official Tennis Experience', where the trophies were on display for the first time, was palpable. It was certainly not an easy and very emotional decision for Thomas to give away his biggest trophies, but when you look at the amount of money raised, it was absolutely the right decision,” said Erste Bank Open Tournament Director Herwig Straka. “Thanks to ORF and Aurena for their support and great cooperation.”
“Many thanks to Thomas Muster, who donated his trophies for a good cause - that's true team spirit in a charitable sense. We would also like to thank Aurena for waiving their fees. This commitment is a strong sign of solidarity with families in need, whom we can support with this great donation,” says Pius Strobl, ORF Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and thus ORF Head of LICHT INS DUNKEL.
