Drag queen Conchita Wurst is Austria's contender for Eurovision, the song contest that pits nation versus nation and launched the global careers of ABBA and Celine Dion, Wurst's idol.

Sporting high-heels, butterfly eyelashes and a full beard, Wurst - real name: Tom Neuwirth - is an unlikely contestant for conservative Austria.

The annual Eurovision Song Contest, which has a huge gay following, could be the perfect platform for the singer to launch an international career.

But her entry has highlighted Europe's geographical divide on attitudes to homosexuality. Unlikely to raise much controversy in the West, her appearance has prompted criticism by some in the East where anti-gay rhetoric remains more common.

Wurst's song entry "Rise Like a Phoenix", which bookmakers say is in the top ten favorites to win, is a power ballad that the singer sees as a defiant metaphor for her journey from a rural boyhood to her budding career as a bearded drag queen.