Wetten, dass..? is a German-language Saturday entertainment television show. It is the largest and most successful television show in Europe. Its format was the basis for the British show You Bet! and the American show Wanna Bet?
Österreichischer Rundfunk is an Austrian national public broadcaster. Funded from a combination of television licence fee revenue and limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media. Austria was the last country in continental Europe after Albania to allow nationwide private television broadcasting, although commercial TV channels from neighbouring Germany have been present in Austria on pay-TV and via terrestrial overspill since the 1980s.
Austria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since its debut in 1957. The country has won twice, in 1966 and 2014, and such it holds the record for the longest gap between consecutive wins — 48 years. The contest is broadcast in Austria by ORF. Vienna was the host city on both of the occasions that the contest was held in Austria, in 1967 and 2015.
Cosima Arabella-Asereba Kiesbauer, known professionally as Arabella Kiesbauer, is an Austrian born German-Austrian TV presenter, writer and actress. She grew up in Vienna with her grandmother after her mother Hannelore and her father Sammy Ammissah separated.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Y así" written by Christof Spörk and Edi Köhldorfer. The song was performed by the group Global Kryner. The Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) organised the national final Song.Null.Fünf in order to select the Austrian entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Five artists and ten songs competed in a televised show where a public vote consisting of regional televoting and mobile phone voting exclusively selected "Y así" performed by Global Kryner as the winner.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 with the song "Reflection" written by Dave Moskin. The song was performed by Bobbie Singer. The Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their relegation from 1998 as one of the six countries with the least total average points over the preceding five contests. On 12 February 1999, ORF announced that they had internally selected Bobbie Singer to compete at the 1999 contest in Jerusalem, Israel, while "Reflection" was presented to the public on 25 February 1999 during the ORF programme Vera.
Oliver Pocher is a German comedian, entertainer, television personality and host.
Larissa-Antonia Marolt is an Austrian fashion model and actress. She was the winner of the first cycle of Austria's Next Topmodel. After her victory she also participated in the fourth season of Germany's Next Top Model, where she was placed eighth.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 with the song "The Secret Is Love" written by Thomas Rabitsch and Nadine Beiler. The song was performed by Nadine Beiler. In July 2010, the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) announced that they would be returning to the Eurovision Song Contest after a three-year absence following their withdrawal in 2008. ORF organised the national final Düsseldorf - wir kommen! in order to select the Austrian entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Thirty songs competed in an online voting round titled Guten Morgen Düsseldorf, of which ten were selected to proceed to the national final. The ten songs competed in a televised show where two rounds of public voting selected the winner. The first round selected the top three entries to proceed to the second round, during which "The Secret Is Love" performed by Nadine Beiler was selected as the winner after gaining 46.73% of the votes.
Dancing Stars is the Austrian version of Dancing with the Stars and is broadcast on ORF eins in Austria. The series debuted on October 10, 2005.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Woki mit deim Popo" written by Lukas Plöchl and Manuel Hoffelner. The song was performed by the duo Trackshittaz. The Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) organised the national final Österreich rockt den Song Contest in order to select the Austrian entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Ten songs competed in a televised show where a public vote first selected the top two entries to proceed to a second round of voting. In the second round, "Woki mit deim Popo" was selected as the winner after gaining 51% of the votes from a public vote. This was the first time that the Austrian song was performed entirely in the Mühlviertlerisch dialect at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Thomas Neuwirth is an Austrian singer and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst. Neuwirth 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.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Shine" written by Andreas Grass, Nikola Paryla, Natália Kelly and Alexander Kahr. The song was performed by Natália Kelly. The Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) organised the national final Österreich rockt den Song Contest in order to select the Austrian entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. Five songs competed in a televised show where an international jury panel and a public vote selected "Shine" performed by Natália Kelly as the winner.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix", written by Charlie Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski and Julian Maas. The song was performed by Conchita Wurst, the drag stage persona of Tom Neuwirth, who had risen to fame after taking part in an Austrian talent show in 2011 and attempting to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. In September 2013 the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) announced that they had internally selected Wurst to compete at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, with her song presented to the public in March 2014.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "I Am Yours" written by Jimmy Harry, Dominic Muhrer, Paul Estrela, Florian Meindl and Markus Christ. The song was performed by the band The Makemakes. In addition to participating in the contest, the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2014 with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" performed by Conchita Wurst. ORF organised the national final Wer singt für Österreich? in order to select the Austrian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna. Sixteen artists competed over three televised shows resulting in the selection of six finalists with a potential Eurovision song each. In the final, ten international juries and a public vote first selected the top two entries to proceed to a second round of voting. In the second round, "I Am Yours" performed by The Makemakes was selected as the winner after gaining 78% of the votes from a public vote.
Alice Tumler, born on 11 November 1978, is a French-Austrian TV host, public speaking and authenticity coach and a keynote speaker.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Loin d'ici" written by Zoë Straub and Christof Straub. The song was performed by Zoë. The Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) organised the national final Wer singt für Österreich? in order to select the Austrian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Ten songs competed in a televised show where a jury panel and a public vote first selected the top two entries to proceed to a second round of voting. In the second round, a public vote exclusively selected "Loin d'ici" performed by Zoë as the winner. This was the first time that the Austrian song was performed entirely in the French language at the Eurovision Song Contest. The Austrian song was also the only entry performed in the final entirely in a language other than English.
Nadja Maleh is an Austrian actress, singer, cabaret artist and director.
Gabriela Horn, known professionally as Paenda, is an Austrian singer, songwriter and music producer. She represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Limits", which was released on 8 March.
The Masked Singer Austria is an Austrian reality singing competition television series adapted from the South Korean format King of Mask Singer. The first season premiered on Puls 4 on 14 March 2020, and is hosted by Arabella Kiesbauer. The show features celebrities singing in head-to-toe costumes and face masks which conceal their identities from other contestants, panelists, and an audience.
