Sawt Falasteen - Eurovision returns to Vienna, 11 years after Conchita Wurst triumph

Austrian singer JJ won this year's competition, held in Basel in Switzerland, with his hit "Wasted Love", which blends techno beats with operatic vocals -- making his home country the 2026 host.

Vienna, which previously hosted the glitzy TV extravaganza in 1967 and 2015, edged out Innsbruck, the capital of western Tyrol province, to stage next year's contest.

The final of Eurovision's 70th edition will be held on May 16 at the downtown concert venue, Wiener Stadthalle, with semi-finals set for May 12 and 14.

Vienna mayor Michael Ludwig said the city saw Eurovision "as a signal of cosmopolitanism and peaceful coexistence".

"We want to show that Vienna is... a city where all people can live out their very different ways of life," the Social Democrat told reporters.

- Israel controversy -

Since its launch in 1955, Eurovision has become the ultimate pop platform, catapulting Swedish icons ABBA to worldwide fame, as well as boosting the likes of Celine Dion, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John.

Some 166 million viewers in 37 countries watched this year's contest, with a record 60 percent of viewers aged 15 to 24 tuning in. The competition got even more views on Instagram and TikTok.

The show has often drawn controversy, with pro-Palestinian activists staging protests during the extravaganza in Switzerland in May after Eurovision allowed Israel -- which came second -- to participate in the contest despite the devastating Gaza war.

Just after his win, JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, called for Israel to be excluded from next year's competition, sparking a storm of criticism in Austria, a staunch supporter of Israel.

JJ, 24, has since sought to defuse the controversy, saying via his record label Warner that he was "sorry if his comments had been misinterpreted".

Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which topped elections for the first time ever last year but failed to form a government, has described Eurovision as a "queer, left-wing, woke spectacle" and warned Vienna should not become "a stage for anti-Semitism".

It also criticised Vienna for wanting to stage it despite the high costs.

Vienna has set aside some 22.6 million euros ($26.4 million) to stage the contest, according to its mayor.

Basel put up nearly $40 million to host it.

- 'Europe, shall we dance?' -

Under the slogan "Europe, shall we dance?", Vienna -- more commonly known for classical music and the baroque splendour of its architecture -- pushed to host the contest, citing its experience with big events.

It also touted its "enormous" accommodation capacities, its "excellent" transport links, and its "cosmopolitanism", with two million people living in the Austrian capital.

The Wiener Stadthalle also hosted Eurovision in 2015, after Conchita Wurst won the previous year's edition.

Located in central Vienna, it opened in 1958 and seats 16,000 people in its main hall.

When Vienna hosted the Eurovision contest last time, the city installed traffic lights showing same-sex and heterosexual couples instead of a single figure -- which proved so popular that authorities decided to keep them for good.

D.Khalil--SF-PST