Austria wins Eurovision Song Contest

She was one of the bookies favourites to win and she finished in 17th place with 40 points – but that’s a fine effort from our very own Molly Smitten-Downes. As a nation, we are realistic with our chances of winning the Eurovision Song Contest, with the general consensus being that we don’t stand a chance in hell.



But there was a different atmosphere in the air this year with Molly’s song Children Of The Universe capturing the audience and, looking at this graph, she’s the latest proof we’re on a slow but sure incline in the popularity stakes with our European neighbours.



Since we won in 1997 with Katrina & The Waves, things have basically gone downhill. But a peak in 2002 thanks toJessica Garlick, another in 2009 when Jade Ewen took to the stage and one more in 2011 with Blue and we’re gradually climbing the ranks. From Engelbert Humperdinck’s 2012 performance and including Bonnie Tyler’s efforts in 2013 and Molly’s this year, the trend for the UK is most certainly upwards.



The Daily Star reports today that she has been "struggling" with her voice, and was barely speaking to anyone while rehearsing - amid fears that she could lose it altogether. The tabloid claims that she has even had moments of worrying if she will have to withdraw altogether. Still, she wrote on Facebook: "So nearly time the 1st performance of my life! The atmosphere out there is electric! "So thankful to all of you for getting me this far...hope I do you proud. Here we go!....ill be singing for you #‎powertothepeople #‎childrenoftheuniverse"

Priests from the Russian Orthodox Church are being ridiculed for opposing Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst.



A Russian blogger, Rustem Adagamov, tweeted a picture of the priests in flowing robes with the message: ‘The ROC categorically opposes bearded men in dresses!’ Retweeted hundreds of times, the comment was sparked by the Church’s opposition against the Austrian drag queen singer.



Vladimir Legoyda, the chairman of the ROC, described Wurst’s win as a ‘sign of the world’s moral decline’ and ‘part of the aggressive assertion of Western cultural norms’. He told Interfax: ‘The process of the legalisation of that to which the Bible refers to as nothing less than an abomination is already long not news in the contemporary world.



Conchita entered the world of entertainment as Tom Neuwirth (with his real name), by taking part in a third season of the Austrian TV show Starmania. Right from the beginning, it was more then clear, that this (back then) 18 year old boy from a small town Gmunden, has big dreams, but also an amazing talent, that will lead him to unbelievable goals, sooner or later, including to the the Eurovision victory in Copenhagen.

Four years after, Tom returned to television, but as a drag persona Conchita Wurst, explaining that his new role represents “a call for tolerance for eveything that seems different”. In 2011 she released a debut single Unbreakable, that peaked at number 32 in Austria that year. Few months later, a new Conchita’s song was out That’s What I Am, as a digital download, achieving much bigger success, especially after taking part in the Austrian national selection (Die große Chance) for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. In that first attempt to attend Europe’s Favourite TV Show, Conchita finished second, but luckily she still didn’t give up on her dream!

In 2014, the Austrian national broadcaster (ORF) decided to go for the internal selection, offering Conchita to be an entrant for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest. When Eurovision.tv met her in March this year, for the very first year, she said: “For me the most special and honoring thing is that Austria shows tolerance and acceptance and I’m so happy to be this statement. I really hope that I get the chance to change some minds all around Europe. I want to show them that you can look whatever you want and that everybody must have the right to live their life however they want it, if nobody gets hurt.”