I did nothing but be true to who I am, singing my heart out.” But Wurst remains modest: “Many people would say that I changed the image of how other people see Austria now. So it’s not such a stretch to find that Austria is proud of this charismatic bearded “lady” (in real life, by the way, the beard is impeccably groomed if a little less black than on screen). Austria is also a place where people with otherwise conservative values can accept or even embrace the offbeat and over-the-top – think Falco and Arnold Schwarzenegger – and where a person can have both lederhosen and skintight black-leather pants in their closet. Talk to any Austrian about their country for long enough and pride emerges but it’s often coupled with self-deprecation and a slight inferiority complex (blame a difficult history). Wurst’s coquettish modesty could be an example of the enduring – and often endearing – contradictions that seem to lie within many of her fellow Austrians. “I’m just an artist who takes to the stage to entertain – but I also give my opinion.”
“There are so many people doing outstanding things when it comes to human rights,” she says. If I get the chance to have a long, successful career, at a certain age people might call me an icon but I’d still say, ‘No, no, no.’” How about ambassador or agent of change? No again. “I’m an Austrian and I’m a national singer but I’m definitely not an icon,” says Wurst. Drag queen, yes (Conchita is the stage persona of Thomas Neuwirth) but a symbol of her native land? No. But Conchita Wurst, the glamorous bearded winner of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, is utterly convinced that she’s not a national icon. Her wax figure stands in the Vienna branch of Madame Tussauds. Dubbing her a cultural icon, the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon praised her message of tolerance of diversity. She has sung at the Vienna State Opera, performed for the European Parliament and appeared as part of a Bank Austria advertising campaign. Her countrymen dubbed her the “Queen of Austria”. By Kimberly Bradley Photography Andreas Jakwerth
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