3 November 2014 – As part of a visit to mark the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Vienna International Centre today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was among those treated to a performance by Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, calling her win earlier this year an “electrifying moment of human rights education.”
“She confounds people’s preconceived ideas of gender and sexuality – and she appeals to them to accept her as she is,” Mr. Ban said of the drag performer, who won the Eurovision Song Contest for Austria in May, marking the country’s first win since 1966.
“That is a powerful message,” he noted, adding that he is “delighted she is using her talent and the Eurovision platform to take this message to a global audience.” “She is an incredible singer and entertainer,” Mr. Ban said. “But what made her win so meaningful was the way she turned her victory in the Song Contest into an electrifying moment of human rights education.”
