The Bearded Lady Wins Eurovision 2014

There was a surprise winner of Eurovision 2014 when a novelty act known as ‘the bearded lady’ came out victorious.

The dynamic drag act from Austria overcame the favourites from Sweden with her power balled ‘Rise Like A Phoenix’ collecting 290 points.

The winner was born as Tom Neuwirth in Austria on November 6th 1988.  He launched his career as a drag act in an Austrian talent show in 2011, changing his identity to Conchita Wurst.  It’s interesting that he chose to share his surname with the German word for sausage!

In addition to the overnight fame, she also collected the glass trophy, which has been awarded to the winner since 2008.  The official trophy is a handmade glass microphone, with sandbalsted and painted detail.  It was designed by the famous Swedish glass artist Kjell Engman.