Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst wows 10,000 fans

So — who was the real Conchita Wurst?

The one on stage, of course. But with some of the fans gathered on Sunday to fete the hirsute Austrian drag queen wearing fake beards, it was a justified question.

State broadcaster ORF estimated that 10,000 people celebrated Wurst’s win of the Eurovision Song Contest and to listen to her rendition of Rise Like a Phoenix — the number that gave her the prize.

The square in front of Chancellor Werner Faymann’s office proved too small, forcing much of the crowd into a nearby park.

Wurst said her Song Contest victory is “not for me, but for people who believe in a future with progress,”

In a meeting with Wurst, Faymann praised her as a symbol for “tolerance, love and joy of life.”