Singer Conchita Wurst kicks off Capital of Culture year for Austrian region

BAD ISCHL, Austria – Eurovision Song Contest 2014 winner Thomas Neuwirth, better known as Conchita Wurst, was a star attraction in the spa town of Bad Ischl on Jan 20. Singing three songs, including his Eurovision hit Rise Like A Phoenix, the drag queen helped launch a year-long programme of festivities for the Austrian region of Salzkammergut. The area comprising 23 municipalities is the first rural region to be anointed one of Europe’s Capitals of Culture (ECOC) for 2024. Bad Ischl, normally a summer attraction for tourists and famed as the favourite getaway of Emperor Franz Joseph I, pulled out the stops for the opening. Austrian music icon Hubert von Goisern, known for fusing traditional folk music elements such as…