JJ wins Eurovision for Austria
It was a nail-biting finish, but Wasted Love is the winning song.
After receiving the most points from the Jury round of voting, Austria was the last country to have their Public vote points revealed in the final count of this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
That made for a nail-biting finish as Israel was holding top spot - the prospect of Eurovision heading to Israel in 2026 raised a lot of questions and was likely to precipitate an existential crisis for Eurovision.
The sigh of relief was palpable as the public vote was announced, giving Austria a total of 436 points and clearly pushing them into first place and handing the trophy to JJ - a 24-year-old counter-tenor with the Vienna State Opera.
The song was Wasted Love - a powerful electro-ballad about unrequited love that showcased JJ's impressive vocal skills with dynamic staging.
"Thank you so much for making my dreams come true..." said JJ, accepting the trophy. "Love is the strongest force in the world, let's spread more love."
Overall, the show in Basel seemed to run fairly smoothly. There were some strong contenders this year, with Sweden the favourite coming into the competition.
But as the voting unfolded, the results looked increasingly unpredictable. There was little consistency across the jury voting, and the public votes also seemed to deliver some surprising outcomes with many of the popular songs getting little traction.
Mariana Conte had a great performance with her track Serving, but ended up in 17th position.
I really liked Bird of Pray by Ziferblat from Ukraine. They finished in 9th position.
The standout was probably Ich Komme by Erika Vikman from Finland. It would have been an iconic winner, but finished in 11th position.
Anyway, Eurovision is done for another year. In 2026, the competition heads to Austria
What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Austria?
What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Austria? Let's take a look at some of the key equality indicators.
Is it legal to be gay in Austria?
Yes. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Austria since 1971.
The country has not addressed historical convictions for men prosecuted before 1971.
The age of consent was equalised by a court decision in 2002. The age of consent is now 14 years old for both homosexual and heterosexual sexual activity.
Is there Marriage Equality in Austria?
Yes. Registered partnerships were introduced in 2010, and same-sex marriage became possible from 2019 following a ruling by the Austrian Constitutional Court.
Are there anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people in Austria?
Yes – anti-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation have been in place since 2004.
There are additional protections against hate-crimes or hate-speech.
What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Austria?
Austria has a large, well-organised and visible LGBTQ community.
In the most recent ILGA report, Austria was ranked 16th overall in Europe when assessed against equality indicators, scoring 53.98%.
Where Austria lost points in the assessment was on the criteria of Hate Crime & Hate Speech, so there is clearly further work to do.
