UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon quoted Conchita Wurst‘s speech after her victory in Eurovision 2014 when they met in Vienna’s United Nations complex, saying “we are unstoppable”. He then went on to praise Conchita’s fight against homophobia and intolerance. The secretary general said she transformed the event into “a moment of human rights education” and continued stating that
when I heard that she had won this Eurovision song contest I immediately knew she was a star of the world
Conchita chose an ankle-length blue dress and black high heels for the occasion, where she was cheered after stating that
I dream of a future where we won’t have to talk about sexual orientation, the colour of your skin, your religious beliefs.
She said to be worried that there are many countries where some people think that human rights are exclusive to certain people and that everyone wants to be respected, and they “have to respect us first to deserve respect”.
In a funny incident during the meeting, Ban Ki-moon confused Austria with Australia, saying that “I thank in particular (Austrian) President (Heinz) Fischer and the government of Australia”. To get out of it, he later said that “there are no kangaroos in Austria”, and that he hoped that they understand that this things happen.
