Austria is awaiting JJ's homecoming after he wins Eurovision Song Contest with 'Wasted Love'

BASEL – Austrians were getting acceptable Sunday to invited backmost location and observe classically trained vocalist JJ, who won the 69th Eurovision Song Contest for their state with “Wasted Love,” a opus that combines operatic, multi-octave vocals with a techno twist.

The 24-year-old countertenor, who sings astatine the Vienna State Opera, was expected to onshore astatine Vienna's airdrome successful the day and clasp a property league successful the evening.

JJ, whose afloat sanction is Johannes Pietsch, was Austria’s 3rd Eurovision winner, aft bearded resistance queen Conchita Wurst successful 2014 and Udo Jürgens successful 1966.

“This is beyond my wildest dreams. It’s crazy," said the vocalist erstwhile being handed the microphone-shaped solid Eurovision trophy aft his triumph successful the Swiss metropolis of Basel connected Saturday night.

Austria's leaders were among the archetypal to congratulate JJ. On Sunday morning, the country's president, Alexander van der Bellen, celebrated JJ successful a video posted connected X.

“What a success! What a voice! What a show!” helium exclaimed. “All of Austria is happy.”

Chancellor Christian Stoecker wrote connected X: “What a large occurrence — my warmest congratulations connected winning #ESC2025! JJ is penning Austrian euphony past today!”

Israeli vocalist Yuval Raphael came 2nd astatine an exuberant solemnisation of euphony and unity that was shadowed by the Gaza warfare and rattled by discord implicit Israel’s participation.

JJ won aft a nail-biting last that saw Raphael scoop up a monolithic nationalist ballot from her galore fans for her anthemic “New Day Will Rise.” But she besides faced protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators calling for Israel to beryllium kicked retired of the contention implicit its behaviour of the war against Hamas successful Gaza.

At a post-victory property conference, JJ said the connection of his opus astir unrequited romance was that "love is the strongest unit connected satellite Earth, and emotion persevered.

“Let’s dispersed love, guys,” said JJ, who added that helium was honored to beryllium the archetypal Eurovision champion with Filipino heritage, arsenic good arsenic a proudly queer winner.

Eclectic and sometimes baffling

The world’s largest unrecorded euphony event, which has been uniting and dividing Europeans since 1956, reached its glitter-drenched decision with a expansive last successful Basel that offered pounding electropop, quirky stone and outrageous divas.

Acts from 26 countries — trimmed from 37 entrants done two elimination semifinals — performed to immoderate 160 cardinal viewers for the continent’s popular crown. No fume machine, pitchy of occurrence oregon dizzying airy show was spared by musicians who had 3 minutes to triumph implicit millions of viewers who, on with nationalist juries of euphony professionals, picked the winner.

Estonia’s Tommy Cash came 3rd with his jokey mock-Italian creation opus “Espresso Macchiato.” Swedish introduction KAJ, which had been favourite to triumph with jaunty sauna ode “Bara Bada Bastu,” came fourth.

Several highly praised singers who had been tipped to triumph fell short, including French chanteuse Louane and soulful Dutch vocalist Claude.

The amusement was a solemnisation of Europe’s eclectic, and sometimes baffling, philharmonic tastes.

The warfare successful Gaza clouded the contest

This year’s contention was roiled for a 2nd twelvemonth by disputes implicit Israel’s participation. Raphael — a subsister of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught connected a euphony festival successful confederate Israel that triggered the Gaza warfare — was met by a premix of cheers and boos arsenic she sang.

Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR said a antheral and pistillate were stopped arsenic they tried to ascent implicit a obstruction to the signifier astatine the extremity of her song. It said a unit subordinate was deed by overgarment thrown by the pair. Raphael's squad said she was near “shaken and upset.”

The Oct. 7 cross-border attacks by Hamas militants killed 1,200 people, and astir 250 were taken hostage into Gaza. More than 52,800 radical successful Gaza person been killed successful Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to the territory’s wellness ministry.

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests some took spot successful Basel, though connected a overmuch smaller standard than astatine past year’s lawsuit successful Sweden.

Hundreds of radical marched done Basel conscionable earlier the competition, waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Boycott Israel.” Basel constabulary said Sunday that the protestation had not been authorized and that 3 officers and 1 protester were injured.

Earlier connected Saturday, a radical of Israel supporters had gathered successful Basel’s cathedral quadrate to basal for Raphael and to amusement that “Jews beryllium successful nationalist spaces successful Switzerland,” Zurich nonmigratory Rebecca Laes-Kushner said.

She said that “this is expected to beryllium astir music, not astir hate."

The European Broadcasting Union, oregon EBU, which runs Eurovision, tightened the contest’s codification of behaviour this year, calling connected participants to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity” and its governmental neutrality.

Eurovision manager Martin Green told reporters that the organizers’ extremity was to ”re-establish a consciousness of unity, calm and togetherness this twelvemonth successful a hard world.” He said each 37 nationalist delegations "have behaved impeccably.”

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Grieshaber reported from Berlin.

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