The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 spent a few days in Barcelona this past week for quite a hectic deal of activity. Interviews and meetings that the artist had in Spain have yielded quite some news and information. Let us offer you a summary of her stay…

Conchita Wurst visited Barcelona in the first stop of the promotion tour of the City of Vienna as the host city of the Eurovision Song Contest. The Vienna Sphere, the inflatable plastic structure that will tour around Europe, inaugurated its parade of visits at Barcelona’s Port Vell, as informed by vienna.at.

A multimedia show and a performance by the Austrian Eurovision winner greeted the 150 visitors of the Vienna Sphere, who could enjoy a virtual trip to the city through 360º projections of such Viennese landmarks as the Spanish Riding School, the bell tower of the Stephansdom or the Main Library of the University of Vienna. The images turned gradually into 3D landscapes of the city till Conchita Wurst appeared to sing Rise like a phoenix.

Wurst was chosen as a promoter of the city of Vienna not only because of her victory in the Contest which the Austrian capital is about to host, but also because of the ideals that Conchita stands for. As the Vienna Tourism Director, Mr. Norbert Kettner stated, Wurst is the ideal ambassador of the city. Besides being the capital of classical music and culture, Vienna is also a young, contemporary and tolerant metropolis, and Conchita Wurst embodies this lifestyle of the city, added Mr. Kettner.

The Austrian ambassador to Spain, Mr. Peter Huber, also praised Conchita Wurst’s part in the promotion of Austria. Thanks to her many Spaniards met a new facet of Austria and Vienna, said Mr. Huber. And he added a royal anecdote: when the ambassador held his first visit to the then Queen of Spain Sofia, Conchita Wurst’s feature in the Eurovision Song Contest was the first topic to be touched.

It transpires that the role of Vienna as the host city in the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest is a piece of the whole project that is indulgently being taken care of. Conchita Wurst wanted to praise Vienna’s quality too during her stay in Spain, stating that Vienna is incredibly diverse, rich in history and open and modern at the same time.

The city of Vienna is well aware of the attention that the Contest pulls. It is the biggest music event in the world with a potential reach of 200 million viewers, said Norbert Kettner. We are ready to welcome the world and to make a mega-event of the Eurovision Song Contest. Our vision is to make the 60^th Eurovision Song Contest the most hospitable Contest ever, he further said.

You can read more about the Vienna Sphere and its schedule here.

Conchita: her views and her plans

Conchita Wurst spent some time with the newspaper 20 Minutos for an interview. She spoke of her new single, You are unstoppable, a gift to her fans, as she described it. With this song I want to give them back all the love they have given to me, said Wurst. The song explains how to chase your dreams and live your life.

Worldwide fame and attention broke into Conchita’s life last year, and one can only try to imagine how to handle this. When 20 Minutos asked Conchita how she had managed her success, she was surprised by the question and replied that it’s very easy. To me it’s like celebrating my birthday everyday. It’s fantastic.

During the interview, Conchita explained how vague her memories of her victory are. The image I have comes from the videos. What I felt then is so big that I don’t have a clear memory of what went on in my mind or what I felt, she explained.

Her role as a messenger of freedom and tolerance plays an important part in her career. Conchita recalls specially the chance that her fame gave her to go to places like the European parliament and speak. She described her vision of the matter as that it’s the best thing I can do: speak and this way educate people so they open their eyes and live in tolerance.

Her plans for the future include a visit to Russia. I’ve not gone yet because you must have launched a record in order to get an official invitation. Since my album will be released in May, I’ll go to Russia to present it, she said.

The interview concluded with the tattoos that Conchita has on her back. One is dedicated to the artist’s mother. The other one is The Little Mermaid. Why this character…? Because I learned to sing with her, Conchita stated.

Conchita Wurst will co-host the 60^th Eurovision Song Contest in May. The event will be host in Vienna thanks to Conchita’s victory in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with Rise like a phoenix.

Keep checking ESCToday.com for more news on Vienna and the Eurovision Song Contest.