Eurovision 2014: Bearded Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst wins with whopping score of 290 while the UK trails behind in 17th place

Conchita Wurst won the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with a score of 290 after a grandiose James Bond theme-like ballad, Rise Like a Phoenix, before a TV audience of around 180million people in 45 countries.



UK hopeful Molly Smitten-Downes came in 17th place with a score of just 40 with her song Children Of The Universe.

'This is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom,' a tearful Conchita said as she accepted the trophy from Denmark's Emmelie de Forrest, who won the contest last year. 'We are unity and we are unstoppable.'



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Glittering prize: Conchita Wurst representing Austria performs the song Rise Like A Phoenix after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

'For me, my dream came true,' she added at a news conference after the win. 'But for our society, it just showed me that there are people out there who want to go into the future and go on, you know, not stepping back or thinking in the past.'



Austrian drag queen Conchita, the alter ego of 25-year-old Thomas Neuwirth, gave one of the most glamorous and sultry performances of the contest, held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The singer, who sported a full beard, smouldered like a Bond Girl in a gold embellished fishtail gown.



Walking onto the stage in front of a smokey backdrop, she gave a powerful performance of her song Rise Like a Phoenix.



The look was set off by diamond earrings, while she also wore a red lipstick, wore her long hair in waves and defined her eyes in heavy black eyeliner.

Ecstatic: The singer celebrates as she is awarded the winner's trophy for Eurovision 2014 Overwhelmed: Conchita looked emotional performing the winning song Rise Like A Phoenix Triumphant: The drag queen declared 'We are unstoppable' while celebrating winning the prize for Austria

Pushing the boundaries of gender identity is nothing new at Europe's annual song contest, which is known for its eclectic, sometimes unlistenable lineup of techno beats, love songs and pop tunes.



Prior to her performance. the drag queen has faced a barrage of homophobic attacks from within her own country and from other countries including Russia, Armenia and Belarus, who branded the contest a 'hotbed of sodomy', the BBC reported.



Amid growing tensions over the Ukraine crisis, some in Eastern Europe have blasted Wurst as an example of the West's decadence. Activists in Belarus had even urged the country's state television network to edit the Austrian entry out of its Eurovision broadcast.



'I can only say thank you for your attention. If this is only about me and my person, I can live with it', Wurst said about her critics in emails with Associated Press.

Glory: Conchita Wurst representing Austria poses with the trophy after a press conference after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Proud: The winner clutches her Eurovision 2014 prize close to her chest Prize: The singer was presented with a trophy in the shape in a microphone to celebrate her win In demand: Conchita holds a bunch of long-stemmed white flowers as she holds her trophy Tearful: The Austrian star is overcome by her emotions and bursts into tears on learning she has won Celebration: Conchita's win was announced with a round of fireworks

Winner: Conchita Wurst won the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with Rise Like A Phoenix

'You know, I have a very thick skin. It's just strange that a little facial hair causes that much excitement.'

Speaking ahead of the semi-final in Copenhagen on Thursday, she added: 'I have to add that 80 per cent of the autograph requests that I get are from Russia and eastern Europe — and that's what is important to me'.

Neuwirth, who was born in Gmunden, central Austria, entered showbusiness eight years ago, taking part in an Austrian TV talent show.

Powerful: A background of fire alluded to the phoenix in the song's title

Bearded lady: Conchita certainly made sure she stood out as she performed at the European music contest

Passionate: The singer put plenty of oomph into her diva-like performance Atmospheric: Conchita went for a moody backdrop with shadows and plenty of smoke effects British hopes: Molly Smitten-Downes performed Children of the Universe on Eurovision, but finished in seventeenth place 'Best thing to come out of Leicester since the A47': Molly Smitten-Downes won support on Twitter after her sterling effort, which earned her seventeenth place

After joining a boy band that quickly broke up, Neuwirth first appeared as Wurst in another talent show in 2011. She has also taken part in two reality shows, including one where candidates had to survive in the Namibian desert with native tribes.

As she prepared for her performance in Copenhagen, Wurst said she wasn't paying much attention to the controversy about her.

'Hey, I'm just a singer in a fabulous dress, with great hair and a beard,' she also told AP.

BUXOM POLES WERE BRITISH FAVOURITES The British voting public would have picked Poland's risque performance featuring buxom young women as the Eurovision Song Contest winner had the choice been theirs alone. Competition organisers revealed the breakdown of every nation's voting, which is weighted 50/50 between a five-member jury panel and that country's voting public. The data showed the Polish entry Donatan and Cleo were the British people's - if not the critics' - choice for the crown on the night. The UK's expert jury actually placed Malta's entry Firelight in first place on average, slotting the eventual overall winner, Austrian drag artist Conchita Wurst, in third. However, the combined ranking which also includes the telephone votes of the public meant bearded lady Wurst ended up being allotted the UK's top marks of 12 points. The Polish entry, We are Slavic, Donatan & Cleo were the British voting public's favourite. We would have picked Poland's risque performance featuring buxom young women as the Eurovision winners had the choice been ours alone The analysis also apparently revealed a huge gulf between British voters' perceptions and that of the jury, with panel members ranking Poland at the bottom of the table at 25th. Poland's eye-opening performance left host Graham Norton, who was commentating for BBC One, speechless. Their entry featured scantily-clad young female performers suggestively dancing to lyrics which included the line "shake what your mama gave you". The Poles ended up on 62 points and finished 14th, which was three places above Britain's Molly Smitten-Downes.

The annual competition is supposed to be completely removed from politics. Still, every time Russia got votes from mainly neighboring countries, many in the audience of 10,000 booed.



And when Moscow gave its respective eight, 10 and 12 points to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus - all former Soviet republics - more boos were heard.



The winner was picked by juries and television viewers across Europe.

Hosts: The 2014 Eurovision Song Contest was presented by Pilou Asbaek, Lise Ronne and Nikolaj Koppel