Conchita Wurst Gay Singer and Icon

Conchita Wurst Gay Singer and Icon

Conchita Wurst (Tom Neuwirth) is a drag stage persona and Austrian singer. Wurst came to international attention when winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix".

Wurst was successfully selected to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, where she proved victorious. Wurst's entry and victory courted controversy, being condemned by some of the continent's social conservatives and right-wingers who saw her performance as a promotion of LGBT rights. Conversely, it brought her international attention and established her as a prominent LGBT icon, but she doesn't want to be an icon.

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Following her victory, Wurst became an icon for Europe's LGBT community and Vienna's tourist board hoped to use Wurst to encourage more gay holidaymakers to visit the city.
She had become "a serious figure of hope" for some LGBT people living in various European countries.