Conchita Wurst wins ESC
May 11, 2014
A bearded Austrian drag queen has won Eurovision 2014 in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
Austria’s 25-year-old Tom Neuwirth, using the stage name Conchita Wurst, sported a well-groomed beard, long hair and an evening gown as she performed her entry ‘Rise like a phoenix,‘ during Saturday’s live song contest.
"This is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom," Wurst said as she accepted the trophy from last year’s ESC winner Emmelie de Forrest of Denmark. "We are unity and we are unstoppable."
Wurst won the title with 290 points. Runner-up, The Netherlands, scored 238 points. Sweden took third place on 218 points.
Germany's act Elaiza singing 'Is it right,' placed 18th.
Wurst’s win secured Austria’s second ESC victory, the first being in 1966.
Since its inception in 1956, the ESC has always been closely associated with politics and this year was no exception as audience members could be heard jeering countries which awarded points to Russia’s Tolmachevy Sisters.
Denmark’s public broadcaster DR transformed a disused shipyard in Copenhagen for the night’s event which staged the 26 finalists.
In all, 37 countries participated in the 59th Eurovision Song Contest. Six countries are automatically entered into the final: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, plus the previous year's winners, who host the competition.
The contest, with flamboyantly dressed artists singing on behalf of their country, is a unique event in European pop music with many of the artists singing songs written in English.
Saturday's show had an estimated global television audience of 170 million viewers across Europe and beyond, including China and Australia.
jlw/crh (dpa, Reuters, AFP)