Advertisement Hundreds of shrieking, frenzied fans have welcomed hotel heiress and party girl Paris Hilton as she made an appearance at a mall in the Austrian capital to sign autographs.
"Hello everybody, it's so good to see you," Hilton, wearing a black and white dress, cooed as the crowd went crazy. "Happy late Valentine's Day!"
But not everyone ended up getting what they came for.
When several objects landed on a stage where Hilton was signing, the session was cut short and she was whisked away by security guards.
The flying objects included cigarette packs, tissues and lipsticks, said Richard Lugner, Hilton's Vienna host.
The Austria Press Agency reported that sheets of paper that floated onto the stage were flyers from a communist youth organisation.
Hilton was in Vienna to attend the city's prestigious Opera Ball as Lugner's special guest.
The 74-year-old married construction magnate takes a celebrity along to the lavish event each year.
Hilton ran into a problem in Munich, Germany, yesterday when it turned out her passport had expired.
Susan McCaw, US ambassador to Austria, had to vouch for Hilton to get her across the border, APA reported.
"Oh nothing, just my passport expired," Hilton said when asked to explain what happened.
Taking questions from some 100 reporters earlier, Hilton said she "loved" classical music and that she grew up listening to it.
"As a little girl, it really helped me fall asleep at night," she said, adding later that she "really loved" old Michael Jackson songs, Madonna and especially hip hop.
Hilton said there were "a lot of people who need help" in the world and that she planned to go to Africa sometime this year.
"As a celebrity, you can really make people aware of what's going on in the world," she said.
U.S heiress Paris Hilton, left, her host for tonight's opera ball Austrian businessman Richard Lugner, centre, his wife Christina, right, are seen Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, at the Hilton hotel in Vienna.
U.S heiress Paris Hilton, left, her host for tonight's opera ball Austrian businessman Richard Lugner, centre, his wife Christina, right, are seen Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, at the Hilton hotel in Vienna.
The Opera Ball draws about 4,500 well-heeled Austrian and foreign celebrities, dignitaries and socialites and tickets often sell out months in advance.
As in previous years, several hundred police officers were being dispatched to make sure demonstrators don't disrupt the festivities.
Hilton, whom Lugner compared to Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana, acknowledged it was sometimes a little rough being a celebrity.
After attending the Opera Ball, Hilton, her parents in tow, is headed to the Tyrolean ski resort of Ischgl tomorrow for her 26th birthday bash.
