Villagers in the Austrian village of Thal are begging home-grown Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger to pay for their Christmas market after the council’s coffers ran dry
Residents in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s home village are appealing to the Hollywood legend to dig deep and save their Christmas after the local market was scrapped for lack of cash.
The tiny, picture postcard Austrian village of Thal, near Graz — where the Terminator star was born — has been forced to cancel its beloved annual Christkindlmarkt because the community coffers are completely empty. And locals now say the only man who can bring it back is their most famous son.
“They should knock on Arnie’s door — he loves his hometown so much,” one resident posted on Facebook. “For him, that’s pocket change.”
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Another added: “Now it’s time for the man himself to show some generosity towards his village.” But so far, there is no sign of a Christmas miracle from California. Mayor Matthias Brunner said the decision to pull the plug was painful but unavoidable.
“It hurts because it was one of my favourite projects,” he told Austria’s Kleine Zeitung newspaper. “But due to the financial bottlenecks, we simply can’t do it anymore because we can’t cover the costs.”
“We had stallholders, a stage, sound equipment, drinks for the music club, decorations, the huts — it all adds up,” he said. “We’re talking about more than 10,000 euros.”
And for a community of just 2,400 residents, that’s just far too steep a bill. The town has been losing money on the event year after year, he said, and this time, there was no rescue fund left.
Online, emotions ran high. Some villagers suggested Arnie was a grinch, arguing said it was time Arnie showed his famous muscles in a new way — by lifting Thal’s Christmas spirit with a cheque.
“He’s proud of where he comes from — now he can prove it,” wrote one. Others pushed back. “Yes, he has the money, but why should he pay for everything?” one woman argued.
“There must be hundreds of people asking him for help.” Another added: “I knew his mother. She was modest and kind. Money isn’t everything.”
Source: Mirror
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