Signed Book - Being Conchita - We Are Unstoppable

Being Conchita 

by Conchita WURTST

With the song ‘Rise Like a Phoenix’, Thomas Neuwirth – better known to the world as Conchita Wurst – stormed to victory in the Eurovision song-contest, in the face of Eastern European homophobia. Causing a storm in Russian politics and homophobic backlash that shook the world, Conchita now stands as a proud representation of courage – far beyond the world of pop music.

• The bearded drag queen’s winning words, ‘we are unity and we are unstoppable’, were a pointed riposte to overt Russian hostility and a watershed moment for LGBT campaigners in Europe. The seismic reaction prompted Graham Norton to later comment: ‘it seems like Eurovision has done something that matters just a little bit’.

• Her victory stirred massive support right across the continent in the gay community and beyond, and Conchita’s inspirational book will have that same support and goodwill behind it.

• Conchita has been clear that she comprises a private person and a fictional character but that these male and female counterparts both stand against intolerance. Conchita owes her existence to the fact that Tom has been dealing with discrimination his whole life. Therefore he created a woman with a beard – who would defy the categories of ‘different’ and ‘normal’ – and challenge gender stereotypes.