Austria's 'bearded lady' Conchita Wurst wins the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest
Channel: news all the world
Date: 2014-05-11

AUSTRIA'S Conchita Wurst — the so-called bearded lady — has won the Eurovision Song Contest.
The drag queen, who was initially written off as too provocative for some socially conservative countries, was a favourite to win the contest.
Wurst, the hirsute alter ego of Austrian performer Tom Neuwirth, represented his homeland with the Bond theme-like ballad "Rise Like a Phoenix," drawing ire from socially conservative viewers.
The act proved so popular that Austria was declared the winner after 34 of 37 countries had given their votes on Saturday evening.
After being announced as the winner, Wurst said: "This night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom."
She added: "We are a unity and we are unstoppable".In Russia, Belarus and Ukraine petitioners demanded that the 25-year-old drag artist be dropped from the competition, while the leader of Austria's right-wing FPOe party called the act "ridiculous"."I have very thick skin," Wurst told AFP. "It never ceases to amaze me just how much fuss is made over a little facial hair."
But much like the title of her song, the singer on Friday rose to second place in the odds table after winning over viewers with her performance in Thursday's semi-final.Earlier in the week the frontrunner had been Armenia's Aram MP3, who stirred controversy when it was reported that he had said Wurst's lifestyle was "not natural" — a comment the stand-up comedian later claimed was a joke.
"I have to say that if it's a joke it's not funny ... but he apologised and that's fine for me," Wurst said.
Since the first votes were cast in 1956, Eurovision results have been closely intertwined with politics and the 2014 competition is no exception.
Audiences in Britain and France routinely complain that their countries suffer from a lack of European voting allies and tend to take the competition less seriously than the countries of the former eastern bloc that joined in the 1990s."Everything could be political but we don't really care, because we are artists and what we are doing is music," said Lorent Idir from France's Twin Twin.
The mainstream appeal of the Eurovision Song Contest has grown over the past two decades after strict rules on singing in the national language and performing with an orchestra were scrapped.
It has also benefitted from the popularity of TV talent shows, and several of this year's artists have previously competed in programs like The X Factor.
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