For company, Zelmerlow had a nifty light show projected behind him, featuring various pencil-sketched stick men, with whom he interacted. Think Ah-ha and
Take on Me
. Without the shoulder pads.
Zelmerlow is likely to go on to enjoy the same commercial success as recent Swedish winner, Loreen, who triumphed three years ago, even if he is unlikely to match the global superstardom of Abba, the country's winner in 1974.
The victory capped a night of surprisingly good tunes at the Wiener Stadthalle. From the moment last year's winner Conchita Wurst, in a purple sequinned jumpsuit, flew on a string above the flag-waving, cheering audience to join the assembled ranks of the Vienna Boys' Choir, you knew that Eurovision hosted in Vienna was going to be a festival of campness and kitsch. But also an evening with a decent level of musicality.
There was no escaping solo females belting out anthems to feminism, peace and love. Admittedly, it was a feminism which involved a lot of cleavages slashed to the navel. But that's Eurovision for you. Russia, Spain and Greece featured hot, strong blondes in epic struggles against the wind machine. Georgia's Nina Sublatti had thigh-high latex boots, and what appeared to be a pair of dead ravens on her shoulder. "I'm a warrior / Oximated / I'm gonna get and be", she yelled. It is unclear what she meant by this. But she meant it with a passion.
Eurovision has a reputation for novelty acts, but there were precious few gimmicks, save Azerbaijan's two backing dancers who writhed as if they were emerging from the primordial swamp, and Austria's Kassabian-alike pub singers who set their piano on fire.
The stand-out acts, apart from Sweden, were Italy's popera trio Il Volo, whose soaring love song won the approval of the Stadthalle and came third. So too, Guy Sebastian from Australia. The country was invited as a guest to celebrate the 60th anniversary. Sebastian, with his uptempo Tonight Again, came fifth, not enough to secure a spot in 2016.
