UN-SEXUALDISCRIMINATION/WURST-AUSTRIA UN's Ban praises Conchita Wurst's gay rights fight

Record ID: 335648

  • Title: UN-SEXUALDISCRIMINATION/WURST-AUSTRIA UN's Ban praises Conchita Wurst's gay rights fight
  • Date: 3rd November 2014
  • Summary: WURST SINGING ON STAGE HAND HOLDING SMARTPHONE RECORDING WURST'S PERFORMANCE WURST SINGING ON STAGE
  • Embargoed: 18th November 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Austria
  • Country: Austria
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA31ZD55ZHYYKXSJCHGVL42NWRO
  • Story Text: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosted bearded Eurovision drag queen Conchita Wurst on Monday (November 3) and praised the gay singer's fight against discrimination and intolerance.
    Wurst, whose real name is Tom Neuwirth, won the 2014 song contest for Austria in May. Ban said she had turned the event, often derided for its kitsch performances, into a "moment of human rights education" fighting for diversity and tolerance.
    The entertainer, sporting a demure dress and black high heels along with a trademark beard, shook hands and joked with Ban and sang for hundreds of cheering officials and diplomats at the United Nations complex in Vienna.
    "I heard that she won this Eurovision Song Contest. I immediately knew that she was the star of the world. And congratulations. 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," Ban said to applause from officials, dozens of whom crowded round to get a picture with or autograph from Wurst.
    Wurst, addressing Ban and U.N. officials on Monday, again urged tolerance
    "You know what I mean, it's so much more than just a label society puts on us, and each and every one is the same when it comes to that. Each and every one wants to be respected. Each and every one wants to receive respect. But you just can be respected if you respect others. And unfortunately, there are still many many countries and people out there who think that human rights are just for some, not for everybody, but that's not true and we all know that," Wurst said.
    Wurst returned home to a heroine's welcome after her song contest victory before a TV audience of about 180 million in 45 countries.
    Her victory was condemned by some social conservatives as promoting gay rights. A confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of trying to impose decadent values on other countries, saying Wurst symbolised its "ethno-fascism".
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