Thousands-upon-thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses are gathering together this weekend for the 2017 "Don't Give Up!" Special Congress being held in Wien from Friday 16 through to Sunday 18 June 2017 at the Happel Stadion.
Local Witnesses will be joined by many hundreds of specially invited delegates from as far away as United States with the programme being given in German as well as in Croatian and English.
In preparation for the event the Witnesses, familiar to all through both their door-to-door activity and street displays for their Bible magazine The Watchtower, have being spending the last three weeks distributing invitations to the public to attend this free event.
The highlight for many of the delegates will be on Saturday when hundreds of new converts from all walks of life and of all ages are due to be accepted into the faith by means of full water baptism.
Leading up to this congress, the Witnesses where featured in a number of segments on Austrian TV on Monday 12 June 2017:
Before the annual congress in the Happel Stadium some criticism of the recognized religious community.
http://tvthek.orf.at/profile/Wien-heute/70018/Wien-heute/13933828/Zeugen-Jehovas-Ausstieg-gestaltet-sich-schwierig/14068153
21,000 people in Austria are Jehovah's Witnesses. Robert Jagarinec is no longer there. "When I started to ask critical questions, I ran against a wall. I decided to leave," says the family's father.
http://tvthek.orf.at/profile/Thema/11523190/Thema/13933654/Zeugen-Jehovas-der-schwierige-Ausstieg/14067984
The Jagarinec family has long been a member of Jehovah's Witnesses. After exiting from the religious community recognized in Austria since 2009, she is now trying to return to life.
http://tvthek.orf.at/profile/heute-mittag/4660089/heute-mittag/13933626/Zeugen-Jehovas-Das-Leben-danach/14068112
ORF reporter Christoph Feuerstein talks about the Jehovah's Witnesses and the consequences for those faithful who begin to doubt the correctness of this doctrine.
http://tvthek.orf.at/profile/heute-mittag/4660089/heute-mittag/13933626/Christoph-Feuerstein-ORF-ueber-die-Zeugen-Jehovas/14068113