A highlight promises to be the appearance on Friday morning of vegan celebrity chef Chris Geiser – who will attempt to cook the world’s largest vegan fried egg in front of an audience at the Museumsplatz.

The meter-sized egg will consist solely of natural, organic, regional and herbal ingredients – and apparently tastes exactly like a chicken’s egg but doesn’t contain cholesterol.

"Eggs and milk are neither necessary for taste or texture. I'll aim to prove this with my vegan fried egg, which is composed exclusively of organic and natural ingredients from Austria," Geiser said. Onlookers will be invited to taste the fried egg – although there will only be enough samples for 2000.

The festival will also feature vegan pizza, cakes, and ice cream as well as live music and acrobatic shows.

"The vegan trend is hard to stop at the moment – and we see that very clearly in our visitor numbers," said festival organizer Felix Hnat.

"More and more people refuse to see animals as food and production units – and at Veganmania we present alternatives. The beauty is that all are welcome, meat eaters too of course. They are especially amazed when they taste the vegan doner kebab or the vegan Sachertorte," he added.

Vegans do not eat animals, or wear products that come from animals, for compassionate reasons.

Vienna has traditionally not been renowned as a destination for vegans or vegetarians – with many cafes in the past assuming that ham doesn’t really count as meat and that vegetarians should therefore be happy to eat it. However, The Local can confirm that things have improved in recent years.

The Veganmania festival will travel onto Graz (5th and 6th July), Innsbruck (2nd August), Klagenfurt (16th August), Bregenz (30th August) and St Pölten (6th September), as well as visiting Germany and Croatia.