The Eurovision Song Contest, often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed live and transmitted to national broadcasters via the Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries' songs to determine a winner.
A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and have been a part of gay culture.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1997 was the 42nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 3 May 1997 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) and presented by Carrie Crowley and Ronan Keating, the contest was held in Ireland following the country's victory at the 1996 contest with the song "The Voice" by Eimear Quinn. The 1997 contest was the seventh – and to date last – edition to be staged in Ireland, as well as the fourth to be produced by RTÉ in five years. The Point Theatre served as the host venue for the third time, following the 1994 and 1995 contests, becoming the only venue to have been the site of three Eurovision Song Contests.
Let 3 is a Croatian rock band based in Rijeka, Croatia formed in 1987. The frontmen are Damir Martinović "Mrle" and Zoran Prodanović "Prlja". Particularly popular in the SFR Yugoslavia, the band is known for their original approach to rock music and their obscene live performances. Their songs often contain provocative and vulgar lyrics. They represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song "Mama ŠČ!".
OutTV is a Netherlands-based television channel which can be viewed via cable television/digital television as a premium channel in the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Israel and Spain. OutTV was launched on 2 April 2008 by OUTtv Media B.V. and has been available on cable since 11 April 2008.
Oliver Alexander Thornton, known professionally as Olly Alexander, is an English singer, actor and LGBT activist who rose to prominence as the lead singer of the pop band Years & Years, who achieved two No. 1 albums on the UK Albums Chart, a No. 1 single and five Top 10 entries on the UK Singles Chart. Between 2021 and 2023, he continued to release music under the name until their dissolution in 2024. During their career, Years & Years were nominated for six Brit Awards.
The LGBT community in Liverpool, England is one of the largest in the United Kingdom and has a recorded history since the 18th century. Many historic LGBT firsts and pioneering moments in the LGBT rights movement either took place in Liverpool or were achieved by citizens of the city.
Thomas Neuwirth is an Austrian singer and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst. He came to international attention after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as Austria's entrant with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix". Neuwirth has stated that he is not a trans woman. He is gay, and has also described himself as a drag queen.
Sanja Vučić is a Serbian singer and songwriter. Initially the lead vocalist of the Serbian crossover band ZAA, she represented Serbia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Goodbye". From 2017 to 2022 she was a member of pop folk girl group Hurricane, during which time they represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Loco loco". In addition, Vučić and Hurricane were scheduled to represent Serbia in the 2020 contest, which ended up being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jeangu Macrooy is a Surinamese singer-songwriter. He was born in Paramaribo and has been living in the Netherlands in the eastern city Enschede in the region Twente since 2014. Macrooy's music is described as modern soul. His audience is in the Netherlands, Suriname, and increasingly in Belgium, France and Germany. He was due to represent host nation the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam with the song "Grow", but the contest was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he represented the country in the 2021 contest with "Birth of a New Age".
Måneskin is an Italian rock band formed in Rome in 2016. The band is composed of lead vocalist Damiano David, bassist Victoria De Angelis, guitarist Thomas Raggi, and drummer Ethan Torchio. Performing in the streets in their early days, Måneskin rose to prominence after coming in second in the eleventh season of the Italian version of X Factor in 2017. Their international breakthrough occurred when the foursome won the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 for Italy with the song "Zitti e buoni".
Duncan de Moor, known professionally as Duncan Laurence, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. He represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with his song "Arcade" and went on to win the competition, giving the Netherlands its first Eurovision win since 1975. "Arcade" became one of the most successful Eurovision Song Contest winning entries on streaming platforms and international charts in recent history. Prior to Eurovision, Laurence was a semi-finalist in the fifth season of The Voice of Holland.
Karl Sanchez, known by the stage name Nicky Doll, is a French drag queen, television personality, and musician based in New York City. He is best known as the main host of Drag Race France and a competitor on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Lawrence John Bolton, better known by the stage name Tia Kofi, is a British drag queen and singer from Clapham, South London. They are best known for competing on the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK (2021), and winning the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2024).
"Zitti e buoni" is a song written and performed by Italian rock band Måneskin. It was produced by the band alongside Fabrizio Ferraguzzo, and won the Sanremo Music Festival and the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. The song was the band's commercial breakthrough in global music charts and topped the singles chart in several European countries. It peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the first Italian-language song in 30 years to enter the UK Top 20. It also reached top 10 of the Billboard Global Excl. US chart.
The Eurovision Song Contest has had a long-held fan base in the LGBT community, and Eurovision organisers have actively worked to include these fans in the contest since the 1990s.
Joker Out is a five-member Slovene indie rock band formed in 2016, who describe their genre as "Shagadelic Rock n' Roll". They had represented Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song "Carpe Diem", placing 21st. Their discography includes three studio albums: Umazane misli (2021), Demoni (2022), and Souvenir Pop (2024).
Thomas Michel Mustin, better known by his stage name Mustii, is a Belgian actor and singer. As part of his career he has released two albums 21st Century Boy and It's Happening Now, which have both peaked inside the top ten of the Belgian Albums Charts. He is also known for being a judge on Drag Race Belgique.
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