Published: 7:20am, 18 May 2025Updated: 7:48am, 18 May 2025
Austria won the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Swiss host city Basel on Saturday, in the country’s first victory since bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst won in 2014.
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Operatic singer JJ won ahead of Israel in the world’s biggest music competition, which was watched by a television audience of more than 160 million people across the world.
The win was Austria’s third in the competition, following Conchita’s success and Udo Juergens’ victory in 1966.
JJ, a 24-year-old from Vienna, combined elements of opera, techno and high-pitched vocals in his song Wasted Love, winning the hearts of the professional juries and telephone voters.
“This is beyond my wildest dreams,” said the singer, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch. “It’s crazy.”
JJ said he wanted to give listeners an insight into his deepest thoughts when he wrote the song, and was happy it had resonated with so many fans.