Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Once I decided to be a different person on stage, I got the chance to be larger than life and over the top, which I love.
I grew up in a small Austrian village, a quite conservative one, and I was the weird little boy always dressing as a girl.
I want to show the world that if you want to be a bearded lady you are allowed to do it without being discriminated against.
But I would not refuse a meeting with Putin. I would like to spend a week with Putin, so that I could better understand him.
If people really want to know whether I am a woman or transsexual, I take it as a compliment. It means I'm doing my job well.
I mean, I would love to see the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, dressing up in a more cosy way, if she feels like doing it.
I'm not perfect, I just do what I think is right. So if I can't fulfil people's expectations, I'm sorry, but it's not my fault.
I can always spot an Australian queen by her high, high end wig. Australian drag queens have the best hair in the world - the best.
Maybe I'll never get the Grammy. But maybe I will get things that are worth much, much more than any Grammy which could stand on my shelf.
I don't understand why people spend so much time thinking about me if they don't like what I do. I couldn't care less about things I don't like.
If you've got the chance to really speak your mind and do what you feel and express yourself how you want, then this is freedom. Drag is freedom.
I find it hard to believe when people tell me I inspired them in any kind of way because I think to myself, 'well, why?' It's just me - not Madonna.
For me, my dream came true. But for society it showed me that people want to move on, to look to the future. We said something, we made a statement.
Being a teenager, a gay teenager, in such a small village is not that much fun. I am part of the gay community and most gays have a similar story to mine.
I didn't invent the bearded lady. It's been around for ages, and there are so many bearded drag queens out there - but they're not in the mainstream as I am.
Being a teenager in a small Austrian village was not fabulous. I tried to fit in and changed myself to be part of the game. I now realise I can create the game.
I just want everybody to be respected. It shouldn't be politics because for me it's not, one of the most natural things in our society should be to be respectful.
It's obvious for example that when I am Conchita, I use the female toilet, and when I am Tom, the male toilet. I can assure you it's never a problem for women, they love it.
If you are prepared to admit to others and to yourself who you really are, then you can have a fantastic life. Of course, you need to have a thick skin to get through it all.
Eurovision is this bubble of inclusivity and respect, and it's so beautiful, if only the whole world would be in this bubble. It is a family that will never forget about you.
It's easy to say, 'This is just a joke.' You know, the bearded lady? And I feel the need to smash it with every performance just because I want to be clear this is not a joke.
There's a big difference between when I'm Tom and when I'm Conchita. Conchita uses very proper German; Tom talks in an Austrian dialect. Conchita gets mad if she is kept waiting; Tom is lazy.
Dressing as a woman meant I began to accept my body, and I enjoyed seeing women get jealous. They ask me how I get my waist this size; how I manage to walk in heels as if I've done it all my life.
People only look at my beard for a moment. Then it melts away and it's just another part of me. It's like the most natural thing, that this is what a bearded lady looks like. It's beautiful to see.
Winning the Eurovision contest is just a door opener, this is not that you're set for life. Definitely not, don't mistake that, because you really have to work your behind off to sustain in this business.
You have to be respectful. Don't ask for respect if you are not respectful. It's not depending on your sexuality, your gender or the colour of your skin. It should be in the focus to live a respectful life.
I'm a drag artist, and we put so much effort into creating characters, so the easiest way to show us respect is to call us by the name we gave ourselves and refer to the gender we have chosen to be on stage.
The whole process of telling my story to my ghostwriter was so intense, after all, because he would ask me questions that no journalist would ask me. Things like, 'How did it smell at your grandmother's house?'
Over the years I've realised that there's nothing wrong with me. But there was a long way for me to go to get back to this loud and outgoing kid, and to get to the point where I could say, 'Yeah, I'm gay, so what?'
The most important thing will be when we actually stop talking about sexual orientation. The moment we reach that point when that is not important any more, we've reached a big goal which is a long way in front of us.
One year, my parents hired someone in the village to dress up as Krampus for a surprise visit to our home - and they regretted it for ever. I went to the door and this huge creature was standing there. I think I passed out.
As Conchita, I've got everything that I need to be glamourous and in the spotlight, giving interviews, doing photo shoots. And on the other side, there's Tom, this shy, boring boy. And I love to be shy and boring when I'm in private.
When I'm standing in front of all those lawmakers in the European Parliament, then I'm a speaker, when I'm singing, I'm a singer. If I'm on the catwalk, then I'm being a model. That can all happen in one week or even on the same day.
I would prefer a society where we don't have to explain ourselves. But I get that many people just need those labels to understand it. And if I make my situation or beliefs more understandable by putting labels on it, I'm happy to do it.
The main topic I'm always talking about is equality, and I get that it's politics, but it shouldn't be. It should be the most normal thing ever. There's bullying and discrimination about the colour of your skin, your religion. And it must end.
The private person Tom Neuwirth and the art figure Conchita Wurst respect each other from the bottom of their hearts. They are two individual characters with their own individual stories, but with one essential message for tolerance and against discrimination.
I think that anyone who is in any way creative or is creating something, whether an architect or fashion designer, I think if you have the opportunity to create something that is fully you, it frees your mind and your spirit and gives you the opportunity to really find yourself.
The first song I remember listening to in a language other than German was 'Goldfinger,' by Shirley Bassey. I was seven years old at the time and I had no idea which language it was or who the lady was singing it, but it touched me and I realised that it was the sort of music I liked.
Kids go crazy for the Krampus tradition and dress up as little monsters - they have beautiful masks, handmade from wood. Our village in Austria puts on a special play in which the creature tells an old beggar to repent his sins; when he refuses, he's beaten up by lots of Krampuses at once.
I am happy being a man in a dress. Some people get confused and think I'm a trans woman, but I'm strict about the difference. What I do is performance, it's staged, it's glamour - it's not real life. But for trans people, being born in the wrong body - there's nothing glamorous or easy about that.
I got an invitation to speak in the European parliament and I met Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the U.N. I took those opportunities to talk about what I thought was right. That those people, who are more important and powerful than I am, think I'm relevant enough to give a speech is mind-blowing.
I'd done drag since I was 14, for special occasions, and in 2010 a friend of mine with her own burlesque group was looking for a host. During a party I was just fooling around, taking the microphone, saying stupid, funny things, and she asked me afterward if I wanted to host her burlesque show every Saturday.
From Vienna with Love' will build a bridge across the globe from Vienna to Sydney, full of music, love and fun. I am really looking forward to performing with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and fabulous guest artists who all have ties to Vienna and telling a story with music that inspired me and songs from my debut album.