Austria wins Eurovision crown
Operatic singer JJ won on Saturday 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.
"There's no wasted love. Love is never wasted. There's so much love that we can spread around, and we should use love as the strongest force on planet Earth," he added.
His success was applauded by Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, who said JJ was writing musical history.
"Dear JJ, you have moved Europe with your voice and sung Austria into the spotlight," Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said on X.
Switzerland won the right to host Eurovision after Swiss rapper and singer Nemo won last year's contest in Malmo, Sweden.
Fans travelled from across Europe and beyond to Basel, with 100,000 people attending Eurovision events in the city, including the final.
Hermann Heyn travelled from Chile for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"We came from really, really far away for this," he told Reuters. "We are not even competing, but we needed to be here."
Eurovision, which stresses its political neutrality, has also faced controversy again this year due to the war in Gaza.
Israel's entrant, Yuval Raphael, was at the Nova music festival during the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel that killed 1200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
Pro-Palestinian groups urged the European Broadcasting Union to exclude Israel over Gaza, where more than 50,000 people have been killed in the ensuing offensive by Israel, according to local health officials.
About 200 protesters mounted a demonstration in Basel on Saturday night, while two protesters attempted to get on to the stage during Raphael's performance but were halted by security officials. No one was injured.
Spanish public broadcaster RTVE also showed a message before the start of the Eurovision show saying "When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and Justice for Palestine".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
15 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Oasis reunite for nineties nostalgia trip
British rock band Oasis have reunited in Cardiff as the Gallagher brothers put more than 16 years of acrimony behind them to deliver a hit-packed set that took thousands of fans back to the optimism and swagger of the 1990s. The Manchester band defined the "Britpop" revival of guitar music, before tensions between Noel Gallagher, the band's main songwriter, and his younger brother, lead singer Liam, led to its split. The group walked onto the stage in the 74,500-capacity Principality Stadium and launched into "Hello," sounding as tight as at the height of their fame. Interaction with the audience was minimal during the two-hour performance. Interaction between the brothers was nonexistent until a very brief hug at the end. The crowd, largely comprising middle-aged fans revisiting their youth, sang along to hits including "Cigarettes & Alcohol", "Supersonic" and "Roll With It." At the end of "Live Forever," a picture of Liverpool and Portugal footballer Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident on Thursday, was shown on the screens behind the band. Oasis ended with "Don't Look Back in Anger," "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova," all pulled from their second album, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", the biggest-selling record in Britain in the 1990s. "Thank you for putting up with us over the years," Liam said. Adam Williams, 42, from Wrexham, North Wales, last saw the band in 2008. "They were probably better than they were then," he said. Oasis had announced the shows nearly a year ago, setting off a frenzy for tickets. "The thing that makes the Oasis reunion special is the thing that makes any reunion special: It has to be something that people really want and something that people thought they'd never see. And Oasis ticks both those boxes," music journalist Mark Sutherland told Reuters. Fans started to gather early outside the stadium, where official Adidas-Oasis football shirts were on sale for 85 pounds ($116). "They're more than a band, it's almost like a movement," said Matt Hobman, 48. "It's like a piece of Britishness." The Gallaghers were joined by original member Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, as well as Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Joey Waronker on stage. Many fans waited for hours in online queues to buy tickets last year, only to find prices had jumped when they eventually had a chance to get them. Britain's competition watchdog launched an investigation into Ticketmaster over the sale, including the use of "dynamic pricing" to hike the cost to fans at the last minute. "Are you having a good time?" Liam asked the crowd. "Was it worth the 40,000 pounds you paid for the ticket?" Oasis play one more show in Cardiff, before the tour moves to the Gallaghers' home city of Manchester. It continues in Britain and Ireland, followed by shows across North and South America, Asia and Australia.
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
'We don't need that': Kanye West denied entry to Australia
Kanye West. File photo: Reuters Kanye West, also known as Ye, has had his Australian visa cancelled after he released 'Heil Hitler', a song promoting Nazism, the country's home affairs minister says. The US rapper released the song that praised the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler across social media and music streaming platforms in May this year. The song came a few months after West made a string of antisemitic posts on X, which included comments such as "I love Hitler" and "I'm a Nazi". Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said that while previous offensive comments made by West had not affected his visa status, officials 'looked at it again' after the song's release. 'It was a lower level (visa) and the officials still looked at the law and said you're going to have a song and promote that sort of Nazism, we don't need that in Australia," he told national broadcaster ABC on Wednesday. "We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry." Burke added that West had family in Australia and had been a longtime visitor prior to the visa cancellation. The singer married his wife Bianca Censori, an Australian architect, in December 2022. Burke's office declined to comment on the exact date of the visa cancellation. West's management did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside US business hours. In October 2024, US conservative influencer Candace Owens was also barred from entry into Australia. Burke said 'Australia's national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else'.
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Venice protests target lavish Bezos wedding
Mass tourism, impossibly high rents, worker exploitation, inequality and elitism: Venice protests in recent days against Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's high-profile wedding have highlighted growing global grievances. Bezos, 61, the fourth richest person in the world, and 55-year-old journalist Sanchez left their luxury hotel on the Grand Canal on Saturday for a final night of partying, crowning a three-day star-studded wedding extravaganza. The couple exchanged rings on Friday evening on the small island of San Giorgio, across the water from Saint Mark's Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, Jordan's Queen Rania, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian, as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were among the A-listers present. Saturday's evening bash - wrapping up celebrations for 200 to 250 guests estimated to have cost some $US50 million ($NZ82 million) - was to take place in the Arsenale, a former medieval shipyard in an eastern district of the lagoon city in Italy. Around 1000 people marched against the event on Saturday, groups of activists and residents who object to the wedding and to seeing Venice being gift-wrapped for the uber-wealthy. But local politicians dismissed protesters as a fringe minority. Bezos's fame and Venice's stunning visual backdrop have offered them international visibility which they effectively exploited. "No Space for Bezos" banners draped over the iconic Rialto Bridge and a huge canvas laid out on St Mark's Square urging the tech billionaire to pay more taxes have been seen all over the world. Concerns of greater disruptions forced Bezos and his bride to move their final and biggest celebrity party from the central district to a more isolated venue in the eastern part of the lagoon city. "The idea that the city should be seen as a set, a stage, or an amusement park has been highlighted like never before by Bezos' wedding," Tommaso Cacciari, a frontman for the No Space for Bezos movement, told Reuters. PROTESTS Alice Bazzoli, a 24-year-old university student, called Bezos a "hypocrite" for donating €3 million ($NZ5.8 million) to Venice while flooding its fragile ecosystem with high-polluting private jets and yachts. Bezos and Sanchez have given €1 million each to three Venetian institutions: CORILA, an academic consortium that studies the lagoon, UNESCO's local office, and Venice International University. "I'd love Venice to be tailored for citizens, not for tourists, with affordable housing," Bazzoli told Reuters, complaining that students were being priced out of the market, with the best accommodations offered to visitors. Andrea Segre, a 49-year-old Italian film director born in Venice, said the city was also pushing out ordinary residents. "People aged 25 to 35 - the age group that starts families - cannot afford to live in Venice. The consequence is a lack of diversity and social liveliness." Venice is rapidly depopulating, largely because of the cost of living crisis. Its historic city centre now has fewer than 50,000 residents, compared to more than 100,000 some 50 years ago. The city has hosted scores of other VIP weddings, including that of actor George Clooney and human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014, but the latest luxury nuptials have attracted far greater resentment because of Bezos' corporate and political role. Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has developed ties with United States President Donald Trump. "Bezos is the embodiment of the most absolute wealth gained through the exploitation of everything around you," 28-year-old student Giulia Cacopardo told Reuters in the run-up to Saturday's march. In Italy, the e-commerce giant has faced criticism and strikes from trade unions over labour practices, and scrutiny over tax compliance. Reuters reported in February that Italian prosecutors were investigating alleged tax evasion worth $US1.2 billion. "I would have protested against Bezos even if he had come on a rowboat with just a handful of people ... because he contributed practically, materially and politically to Donald Trump's re-election," protest leader Cacciari said. LAVISH WEDDING At the ceremony the bride wore a high-necked silhouette dress and a tulle and lace veil by Dolce & Gabbana, which she told magazine Vogue was based on Sophia Loren's dress to marry Cary Grant in the 1958 film, Houseboat . Sanchez was also wearing a pair of diamond earrings by Dolce & Gabbana, which, according to Vogue , was lent to her in keeping with the tradition that it brings good luck for a bride to wear something borrowed. Bezos, who is No 4 on Forbes' global billionaires list, donned a black tuxedo and bow tie over a white shirt. Friday's ceremony had no legal status under Italian law, a senior city hall official told Reuters, suggesting the couple may have previously wed legally in the United States to avoid the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage. While some residents and activists raged against Bezos as a symbol of inequality and arrogance, Venetian businesses and political leaders welcomed the luxury nuptials, hailing them as major boost for the local economy. "Those who protest are in contradiction with the history of Venice, which is a history of relations, contacts and business," Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told Reuters. "Bezos embodies the Venetian mentality. He is more Venetian than the protesters," the centre-right mayor said. Bezos got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
