Austrian police hold 38 people as thousands protest at event they say attracts far-right supporters from across Europe

As elegant couples waltzed under crystal chandeliers at a lavish ball in the Austrian capital on Friday, police outside detained dozens of demonstrators demanding an end to the black-tie event, which the protesters say attracts far-right support from across Europe. At least two people were injured.

Police estimated the number of protesters at about 5,000 people. Isolated scuffles broke out between protesters and helmeted officers in riot gear, and riot dogs were used in at least one instance to disperse demonstrators.

A police spokesman Johann Golob said one officer was wounded by fireworks and at least one protester was also injured.

With midnight approaching, 38 people had been detained and the demonstrators appeared to be dispersing, but Golob said police would remain on the streets. He also spoke of unspecified damage. The full cost of vandalism from protests last year exceeded €1m (£750,000) but could not be fully assessed until days later.

Balls in Vienna have been a tradition for centuries, with the moneyed class waltzing through wars and recessions, blissfully ignoring the occasional firebomb-throwing anarchist opposed to the alleged decadence associated with such events. Left-wing groups criticise some of Vienna’s more opulent balls as a showcase for the rich, but none draws as much opposition as the Academy Ball, which has been held under various names for 60 years.

That event, at the ornate downtown Hofburg palace, started drawing demonstrators decades ago as Austrians started embracing the view that their country – long portrayed as one of Nazi Germany’s first victims through its 1938 annexation – was in fact one of Hitler’s most loyal allies.

Opposition peaked in 2012 with the Austrian committee reporting to Unesco, the UN cultural organisation, striking all Vienna balls from its list of Austria’s noteworthy traditions because of the one ball, staged in part by duelling fraternities including far-right alumni who display sabre scars on their cheeks as badges of honour.

The ball is sponsored by the Freedom party, whose supporters range from those opposed to the EU to the far-right fringe. Freedom party chief Heinz-Christian Strache denied that the ball drew rightwingers and criticised opponents as “jackbooted troops of the SA,” using the acronym associated with Hitler’s brown-shirted storm troopers.

He insisted that he meant “Socialist Antifascists,” an occasionally violent far-left-anarchist group.