The 2014 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the B&W Hallerne in Copenhagen, Denmark from 6 May 2014 to 10 May 2014, after Emmelie de Forest's win with "Only Teardrops" in Malmö the previous year. This was Denmark's (and Copenhagen's) third time hosting the contest.
The three live shows were hosted by presenter Lise Rønne, musician/radio host Nikolaj Koppel, and actor Pilou Asbæk. The branding for this edition, "#JoinUs", is built around the imagery of a diamond, representing a central hub for all of Europe to reflect from and refract through; it also references host venue B&W Hallerne, a formal industrial complex where a "diamond in the rough" could possibly be found. This concept carried through to the stage design, itself a large, caged diamond shape
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Thirty-seven countries competed in this edition —an unusually low count in the modern contest that wouldn't be repeated until 2023— with Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Serbia pulling out from the previous edition, while Portugal returned after a year hiatus and Poland for the first time since 2011.
This edition was won by Austria's Conchita Wurst —a bearded drag queen— with the power ballad "Rise Like a Phoenix." This was Austria's second win (following their first trophy in 1966 with Udo Jürgens's ""Merci, Chérie") and it set a record for the longest gap between successive wins for a country —a whopping forty-eight years— that would not be exceeded until Spain passed their fifty year mark in 2019. Conchita's win was also historic on multiple fronts; in addition to being the first drag queen and the first fictional character to win the contest, Thomas Neuwirth (the man behind Conchita) also became the first openly gay man to do so.note
Tropes seen during this year's contest include:
- All Issues Are Political Issues:
- An openly gay man winning the contest would have been enough of a controversy among some of Europe's more conservative constituents, but a flamboyant, openly gay man competing as a bearded drag queen? Needless to say, many feathers were ruffled, and it's been a long-held theory that it partially led Hungary to quit the contest within the decade.
- Despite competing with the fairly milquetoast and otherwise inoffensive song "Shine," Russia's Tolmachevy Sisters faced ire for their country's (then-recent) initial invasion of Ukraine and continued mistreatment of LGBTQ people, becoming a rare target of booing from the audience in their semi-final. This led to the EBU cracking down on potential booing in subsequent contests.
- The Bus Came Back: As is usually the case at Eurovision, this edition features several returnign acts:
- San Marino's Valentina Monetta returns for her third-consecutive Eurovision, but her third time seemed to be the charm this time around, finally winning a spot in the final after her first two failed attempts. (Her fourth contest in 2017, however, did not echo her fortune here.) She's actually the fourth person to compete in three consecutive years —following Switzerland's Lys Assia, the Netherlands's Corry Brokken, and Austria's Udo Jürgens— but is the only one among them to have not won any of them.
- Romania's Paula Seling and Ovi return as a duo, having previously finished third together in 2010.
- Russia's Tolmachevy Sisters make their debut in the adult contest after previously winning Junior Eurovision in 2006.
- Macedonia's Tamara Todevska —singing backup for her sister Tijana here— previously represented the country in 2008 as part of a trio with Vrčak and Adrian Gaxha. She would later return as a soloist in 2019.
- Martina Majerle, who previously represented Slovenia in 2009 as a featured vocalist for string quartet Quartissimo, returns here as a backing vocalist for Montenegro's Sergej Ćetković.
- Eliminated from the Race: Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Belgium, Albania, and Moldova were eliminated from the first semi, while Lithuania, Ireland, Macedonia, Israel, and Georgia were eliminated from the second. Israel's elimination in particular was considered as something of a
shock at the time, with many thinking it would break their multi-year NQ streak that began in 2011. - Memetic Mutation: Mariya Yaremchuk of Ukraine became a viral sensation for her performance's prominent use of a human-sized hamster wheel, which would later be referenced and parodied in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
- Sensual Slavs: Exploited by Polands' Donatan and Cleo in the song "My Słowianie – We Are Slavic." While Cleo was rapping about how Slavic girls "know how to use [their] charming beauty," backing performers in dresses with traditional Slavic prints, short skirts and deep necklines drew in further audience interest by suggestively doing activities like washing laundry or churning butter.
