As JJ, whose full name is Johannes Pietsch, walked through the gate, hundreds of fans on Sunday cheered. Some played his song, others hugged him.
The 24-year-old countertenor, whose winning song combines operatic, multi-octave vocals with a techno twist, and who also sings at the Vienna State Opera, held up his trophy in one hand and a big bouquet of roses in the other.
He smiled, wiped away tears and told the crowd “that victory is for you.”
JJ is Austria’s third Eurovision winner, after Conchita Wurst in 2014 and Udo Jürgens in 1966.
Austria’s president, Alexander van der Bellen, celebrated JJ in a video posted on X.
“What a success! What a voice! What a show!” he exclaimed. “All of Austria is happy.”
Chancellor Christian Stoecker wrote on X: “What a great success — my warmest congratulations on winning #ESC2025! JJ is writing Austrian music history today!”
The Vienna State Opera also expressed joy over the win.
“From the Magic Flute to winning the Song Contest is somehow a story that can only take place in Austria,” opera director Bogdan Roscic told the Austrian press agency APA.
Several Austrian cities were quick to show their interest in hosting next year’s contest.
ADVEReadNOWISEMENTInnsbruck Mayor Johannes Anzengruber told APA that “not everything has to take place in Vienna… Austria is bigger than that,” and the towns of Oberwart in Burgenland and Wels in Upper Austria also threw their hats into the ring.
JJ himself said he hoped that Vienna would get the next ESC which he would love to host together with his mentor, Conchita Wurst.
Additional sources • AP