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Austria wins Eurovision Song Contest

Austrian drag act Conchita Wurst has been

crowned the winner of the 59th annual

Eurovision Song Contest held in Denmark's

capital, Copenhagen.

The singer, whose real name is Tom Neuwirth,

won with the song Rise Like a Phoenix,

collecting 290 points.

The Netherlands finished second with 238

points, with Sweden in third place with 218

points.

The UK's Molly Smitten-Downes came 17th,

with 40 points for her song Children of the

Universe.

It is the first time Austria has won the contest

since 1966, and only the second time the

country has competed in the final in the past

10 years as it either did not participate or qualify.

Wurst had been the second favourite to win

behind Sweden going in to the competition,

with many predicting the act could be too

divisive among voters.

However she was the clear winner, with her

victory announced after 34 of the 37 countries

had submitted their scores.

Collecting her trophy on stage the singer said:

"This night is dedicated to everyone who

believes in a future of peace and freedom. You

know who you are – we are unity and we are

unstoppable."

Speaking backstage later, Wurst said she felt

Europe had taken a stand by voting her the

winner.

"I dream of a world where we don't have to

talk about unnecessary things like sexuality,

who you love. I felt like tonight Europe showed

that we are a community of respect and

tolerance," she said.

Smitten-Downes, who closed the

performances, had been tipped to score highly

with bookmakers placing her in the top five.

She received points from only nine countries:

San Marino, Denmark, Malta, Iceland, Norway,

Ireland, Spain, Belgium and Georgia.

Her result was still better than the UK's entry

last year, when Bonnie Tyler finished 19th on

the final scoreboard with 23 points.

The evening's events were overshadowed by

the current events in Ukraine, with Russia's

entry – The Tolmachevy Sisters – receiving boos

from the audience during the results when

countries including Azerbaijan awarded them

the highest number of points.

When Russia's delegate appeared on screen to

announce its votes – seven points of which

were for Ukraine – more booing could be

heard. Ukraine gave four points to Russia in

return.

Russia ended the night in seventh place with

89 points, behind Ukraine with 113.

The Tolmachevy Sisters received points from

13 countries, compared with last year's

Russian entrant who received votes from 27 countries.

The contest featured the usual mix of pop

tunes and ballads, accompanied by spectacular

stage performances.

Ukraine kicked off the show with a man in a

giant hamster wheel, while Greece included a

trampolinist and Poland offered a number of

busty performers who suggestively churned

butter and washed laundry on stage.

Some 26 countries performed at the B&W

Hallerne arena for an expected television

audience of more than 120 million fans.

[BBC]

Kofi Oppong Kyekyeku

I am a Ghanaian Broadcast Journalist/Writer who has an interest in General News, Sports, Entertainment, Health, Lifestyle and many more.

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