Austria’s Conchita Wurst wins Eurovision Song Contest

Austria’s Conchita Wurst has won the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.

The bearded drag queen, 25, real name Tom Neuwirth, became the symbol of this year’s contest in the weeks leading up to the final in Copenhagen, Denmark tonight (May 10) and clinched victory with a total of 290 points.

Her song Rise Like a Phoenix enjoyed a comfortable winning margin of 52 points, with second place act, boy-girl country-pop duo The Common Linnets from The Netherlands, trailing with 238 points.

Sweden came third, followed by Armenia in fourth and Hungary in fifth.

The United Kingdom’s entry, Children of the Universe by up-and-coming singer-songwriter Molly, had been fifth favourite to win before tonight’s final but had to settle for a disappointing 17th place with 40 points.

Represented her native Spain, X Factor favourite Ruth Lorenzo fared rather better, coming in tenth with her self-penned song Dancing In the Rain.

The top ten in full:

1. Austria
2. The Netherlands
3. Sweden
4. Armenia
5. Hungary
6. Ukraine
7. Russia
8. Norway
9. Denmark
10. Spain