More than 17,000 youths from 112 countries attended.

Besides these 17,000, who had come to Vienna to take part in the festival, there were also over a thousand in Vienna, who refused to take part in the festival.

This paradoxical situation is explained by the pre-history of the Vienna festival. According to the custom practised until now, an invitation of the youth and student organisations of the host country is the proper thing for the meeting which takes place every two years. This invitation was lacking in Austria, however, when the International Preparatory Committee chose Vienna and the Austrian government gave its consent for reasons of foreign policy.

Within the student and youth organisations of Austria it was then decided to do something against the propaganda spectacle.

"We are against the Communist festival," the work community "Junges Leben" confirmed, "because this festival is trying to hide bloody oppression under the mantle of a meeting of a dancing and singing youth, because Austrian youth is against having our neutral Austria and our beloved Vienna misused as a facade for the Communist camouflage fete, and because Austrian youth condemns the horrible oppression and bloody persecution of belief by Communism ..."