By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/glitter-glitz-politics-eurovision-2015 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Eurovision 2015 delivers notes of glitz, glam — and politics World May 24, 2015 5:24 PM EDT Sweden’s Mans Zelmerlow took the top prize in the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Saturday night. Singer Mans Zelmerlow representing Sweden poses with the trophy after winning the final of the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. Credit: Heinz-Peter Bader/REUTERS. The 28-year-old from Stockholm pulled ahead of Russian songstress Polina Gagarina with the upbeat dance tune “Heroes” to win by 62 points. Singer Mans Zelmerlow representing Sweden performs the song “Heroes” during the final of the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2015. Credit: Leonhard Foeger/ REUTERS. Italy, Belgium and first-time participant Australia, rounded out the top five. Singer Guy Sebastian representing Australia performs the song “Tonight Again” during the final of the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2015. Credit: Leonhard Foeger/REUTERS. Even though contest organizers claimed they installed anti-booing technology in the Vienna stadium, boos could be heard each time Russia was awarded points, the UK Telegraph reported. But this isn’t out of the ordinary. While the contest began as a way to unite European nations torn apart by wars and international crises, more recent contests have been as much a political battle as a musical one. Singer Polina Gagarina representing Russia performs the song “A Million Voices” during the first dress rehearsal for the final of the upcoming 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest In Vienna, May 22, 2015. Credit: Leonhard Foeger/REUTERS. Russian politicians fought to prevent last year’s winner, Austria’s bearded cross-dressing performer Conchita Wurst from performing in 2014, Rolling Stone reported. Wurst performed during the opening of the 2015 show. Last year’s winner Conchita Wurst of Austria performs during the final of the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2015. Credit: Leonhard Foeger/REUTERS. Landing near last place with five points was the United Kingdom’s Electro Velvet. Electro Velvet representing the United Kingdom perform the song “Still In Love With You” during the final of the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2015. Credit: Leonhard Foeger/REUTERS. An estimated 200 million people tuned in for the show, according to the BBC. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Carey Reed assists in covering breaking and feature news for NewsHour Weekend's website. She also helps the NewsHour Weekend broadcast team in the production of the show. She is interested in the flourishing fields of data journalism and information visualization and recently graduated, with honors, from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. @careyereed
Sweden’s Mans Zelmerlow took the top prize in the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Saturday night. Singer Mans Zelmerlow representing Sweden poses with the trophy after winning the final of the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. Credit: Heinz-Peter Bader/REUTERS. The 28-year-old from Stockholm pulled ahead of Russian songstress Polina Gagarina with the upbeat dance tune “Heroes” to win by 62 points. Singer Mans Zelmerlow representing Sweden performs the song “Heroes” during the final of the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2015. Credit: Leonhard Foeger/ REUTERS. Italy, Belgium and first-time participant Australia, rounded out the top five. Singer Guy Sebastian representing Australia performs the song “Tonight Again” during the final of the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2015. Credit: Leonhard Foeger/REUTERS. Even though contest organizers claimed they installed anti-booing technology in the Vienna stadium, boos could be heard each time Russia was awarded points, the UK Telegraph reported. But this isn’t out of the ordinary. While the contest began as a way to unite European nations torn apart by wars and international crises, more recent contests have been as much a political battle as a musical one. Singer Polina Gagarina representing Russia performs the song “A Million Voices” during the first dress rehearsal for the final of the upcoming 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest In Vienna, May 22, 2015. Credit: Leonhard Foeger/REUTERS. Russian politicians fought to prevent last year’s winner, Austria’s bearded cross-dressing performer Conchita Wurst from performing in 2014, Rolling Stone reported. Wurst performed during the opening of the 2015 show. Last year’s winner Conchita Wurst of Austria performs during the final of the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2015. Credit: Leonhard Foeger/REUTERS. Landing near last place with five points was the United Kingdom’s Electro Velvet. Electro Velvet representing the United Kingdom perform the song “Still In Love With You” during the final of the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2015. Credit: Leonhard Foeger/REUTERS. An estimated 200 million people tuned in for the show, according to the BBC. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now