JJ – real name Johannes Pietsch – won the 69th Eurovision contest on Saturday night, performing his original song, Wasted Love.
Representing Austria, the singer won with 436 points, with Israel's act Yuval Raphael coming in a close second with 357 points. In third place was Tommy Cash, performing Espresso Macchiato for Estonia with 356 points.
As Pietsch accepted the glass microphone trophy, he said: "Thank you so much for making my dreams come true... Love is the strongest force in the world, let's spread more love."
Speaking to That Eurovision Site post-show, Pietsch further expressed his joy over the win.
"Be proud of who you are and where you come from," he said.
"No matter who you are, there is always someone out there who will love you, and you should really believe in yourself.
"Dreams really do come true – never give up," Pietsch added.
Born in Vienna, Pietsch is the son of an Austrian father and Filipino mother, but grew up in Dubai, where his father ran an IT business.
His winning song combines his classical music skills with his love of pop, a skill he honed while growing up in Dubai.
Speaking to The National just days before, Pietsch said: “It actually was in Dubai that I discovered my love for music, especially classical music.
"When I was a kid, my parents hosted karaoke parties almost every weekend, and my sisters and I loved to sing along... My father would also make us listen to classical music. So I guess this is also a reason why I sing 'popera' now. It is a privilege to be able to combine both worlds.”
Raphael, Israel's winner and a survivor of Hamas’s October 7 attack, finished in second place with song, New Day Will Rise.
The country's participation in this year's singing contest has been met with backlash in the run-up to the final.
Similar to last year, demonstrations calling for Israel to be banned from the competition were ongoing near the venue and around Basel. Protests were also held on Nakba Day, which remembers May 15, 1948, when about 750,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes.
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
