page_title: Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014
section_title: After Eurovision
hierarchical_section_title: Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 / After Eurovision
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Life Ball 2014: Conchita Wurst und Jean Paul Gaultier auf dem red carpet auf dem Rathausplatz in Wien, Österreich. English: Life Ball 2014: Conchita Wurst and Jean Paul Gaultier on the red carpet on the square in front of the Rathaus (Town Hall) of Vienna, Austria.
context_page_description: Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix", written by Charlie Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski and Julian Maas. The song was performed by Conchita Wurst, the drag stage persona of Tom Neuwirth, who had risen to fame after taking part in an Austrian talent show in 2011 and attempting to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. In September 2013 the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk announced that they had internally selected Wurst to compete at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, with her song presented to the public in March 2014.
  After a promotional tour of several European countries, Austria was seen as one of the countries most likely to qualify for the grand final. In the second of the Eurovision semi-finals "Rise Like a Phoenix" came first of the 15 participating countries, securing its place among the 26 other countries in the final. In Austria's forty-seventh Eurovision appearance on 10 May, "Rise Like a Phoenix" became the sixty-second song to win the Eurovision Song Contest, receiving a total of 290 points and full marks from thirteen countries.
context_section_description: As the winners of the 2014 contest, Austria was given the responsibility of hosting the 2015 contest. Shortly after the 2014 final, ORF confirmed the preliminary dates for the 2015 contest, as well as that several cities in Austria were competing to host the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. After a competition was held to determine the host venue, three cities were short-listed by ORF: Vienna; Innsbruck; and Graz. On 6 August it was announced that the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna would host the 2015 contest, scheduled to be held on 19, 21 and 23 May 2015. On 19 December 2014, the hosts of the contest were announced, with Wurst taking on the role of green room host for the event.
  On Wurst's return to Austria after winning Eurovision, she was greeted at Vienna International Airport by thousands of fans and hundreds journalists celebrating her victory. On 18 May she met with Werner Faymann, the Chancellor of Austria and Josef Ostermayer, the Minister of Arts, Culture, and Media at an official reception, followed by a performance on stage at Vienna's Ballhausplatz to an audience of thousands of fans. The concert was however criticised by the conservative Austrian People's Party, a member of the coalition government.
  "Rise Like a Phoenix" went on to become a hit across Europe, reaching the top 3 in iTunes download charts in fourteen countries, including both Belarus and Russia, where she had courted controversy before the contest. The song also reached the top 10 in charts in twelve countries, including number one in Austria and the UK Indie Chart.
  Wurst received both praise and criticism following her victory. Many celebrities sent their congratulations and support to Wurst via Twitter and other means, including Elton John, Cher, Lady Gaga, Boy George and Robbie Williams, as well as from fellow Eurovision winners Alexander Rybak, Emmelie de Forest, Lena Meyer-Landrut and Charlotte Perrelli. However her victory was also met with negative reaction by some more conservative sections of European society. In Turkey, which had not taken part in the contest since 2012, the government party AKP criticised Wurst's win, with then-Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowing that Turkey would never take part in the contest again and his colleague Volkan Bozkır proclaiming "Thank god we no longer participate in Eurovision".
  Church leaders in the Balkans have also claimed that Wurst's win is responsible for floods in south-east Europe in May 2014, which left over 60 people dead. Metropolitan Amfilohije, the Montenegrin patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church claimed that "this [flood] is not a coincidence, but a warning" and a "reminder that people should not join the wild side", Patriarch Irinej, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Serbs has reportedly said the floods are "divine punishment for their vices" and that "God is thus washing Serbia of its sins". Wurst had previously been condemned by the Russian Orthodox Church. However Fr. Michael Unger, Tom Neuwirth's childhood Catholic priest, condemned the homophobic backlash against him, and said that he is "just happy that he's happy".
  In the wake of her Eurovision win, Wurst was invited onto several television programmes across Europe. Wurst appeared as a guest on several BBC programmes in the United Kingdom; including The Graham Norton Show on 16 May, a chat show hosted by British commentator Graham Norton; and on 23 May 2014 she appeared on The One Show and Newsnight. Wurst was invited onto the German talk show TV total on 4 June 2014, hosted by former Eurovision contestant and host Stefan Raab, and was in demand by German broadcaster RTL as a new personality for their upcoming reality shows. Wurst also performed on the popular Swedish show Allsång på Skansen in July 2014.
  In June 2014, Wurst headlined the Vienna Life Ball, Europe's biggest charity event supporting people with HIV and AIDS, attending the event in a dress designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. Wurst has since modelled for both Gautier and Karl Lagerfeld at several events.
  Both before and after her E
caption: Conchita Wurst and Jean Paul Gaultier at the Vienna Life Ball
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