Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

Austria in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Austria in the; Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Participating broadcaster	Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF)
Country	Austria
Selection process	Internal selection
Announcement date	Artist: 10 September 2013; Song: 18 March 2014
Competing entry
Song	"Rise Like a Phoenix"
Artist	Conchita Wurst
Songwriters	Charlie Mason; Joey Patulka; Ali Zuckowski; Julian Maas;
Placement
Semi-final result	Qualified (1st, 169 points)
Final result	1st, 290 points
Participation chronology

Austria was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix", written by Charlie Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski, and Julian Maas, and performed by Thomas Neuwirth under the drag stage persona Conchita Wurst. The Austrian participating broadcaster, Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), internally selected its entry for the contest. The broadcaster announced Wurst's selection in September 2013, with the song presented to the public in March 2014. Wurst had risen to fame after taking part in an Austrian talent show in 2011 and attempting to represent Austria in 2012.

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. This was Austria's second win in the contest, having previously won in 1966, 48 years prior; this is the longest gap between two Eurovision wins of a country to this day.

After the show, the song went on to chart in several European countries, reaching number one in Austria and the UK Indie Chart, as well as reaching the top 10 in a further 10 countries. Wurst's appearance in the contest brought about both criticism and praise: by some of the more socially conservative sections of European society her victory in the contest was condemned as a promotion of LGBT rights; conversely the international attention received by Wurst's victory firmly established her among the LGBT community, leading her to take an active role in promoting tolerance and respect, and resulted in several invites to perform at several European pride events, as well as performances at the European Parliament and United Nations Office at Vienna.