{"id":668311,"date":"2026-05-13T13:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/668311\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T13:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:50:15","slug":"victoria-swarovski-eurovision-2026-host-and-jewellery-heiress-dismisses-nepotism-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/668311\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria Swarovski: Eurovision 2026 host and jewellery heiress dismisses nepotism claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/celebrity.nine.com.au\/eurovision\" target=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"\ufeffEurovision\">\ufeffEurovision<\/a> host and heiress to the multi-billion dollar jewellery company of the same name, Victoria Swarovski, has hit back at claims nepotism helped her get to her current position.<\/p>\n<p>This year, the 32-year-old is hosting the <a href=\"https:\/\/amp.nine.com.au\/article\/36199dfd-95cc-448a-a134-61f221ab9193\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Europe\ufeff-wide song competition\">Europe\ufeff-wide song competition<\/a> in her home country of Austria, and she was previously a pop singer before hosting the German version of Strictly Come Dancing.<\/p>\n<p>She also has her own fashion brand, ORIMEI, and so decided against wearing Swarovski jewellery during the grand final of <a href=\"https:\/\/celebrity.nine.com.au\/latest\/eurovision-2026-delta-goodrem-glimmers-gold-mesh-dress-opening-ceremony\/e22d632c-3fd0-491c-b5e7-daa8fdf3d6ec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Eurovision\">Eurovision<\/a> on the weekend in order to put distance between herself and the family name.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/7094423a-a1d6-475f-babb-74ba1f5aa3cc.jpeg\"  alt=\"VIENNA, AUSTRIA - MAY 11: Victoria Swarovski speaks onstage during the second dress rehearsal for the semi-final 1 of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest at Wiener Stadthalle on May 11, 2026 in Vienna, Austria.  (Photo by Christian Bruna\/Getty Images)\"\/>Victoria Swarovski is the host of this year&#8217;s Eurovison song contest. (Getty)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I just found it was too obvious &#8230; when you when you read through some articles in Germany, in the beginning, it was always, &#8216;She&#8217;s just supported by her family, she made her career just because of her family&#8217;,&#8221; she told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/tv\/tv-news\/eurovision-2026-host-victoria-swarovski-37146068\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"The Mirror\">The Mirror<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And now &#8230; it&#8217;s like a turning point where people recognise, &#8216;Okay, she is working her ass off&#8217;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Swarovski was founded by her ancestor Daniel Swarovski in 1895.<\/p>\n<p>Victoria&#8217;s father, Paul, continues to work at the company, which has been largely family-run since it&#8217;s inception 131 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>R\ufeffEAD MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/celebrity.nine.com.au\/latest\/kj-apa-mr-fantasy-kiwi-riverdale-star-lashes-out-video-stealing-his-identity\/479bc35f-07bf-4234-a370-a7026ee14829\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"&#039;Hurting my career&#039;: Kiwi star accuses man of &#039;stealing his identity&#039;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#8216;Hurting my career&#8217;: Kiwi star accuses man of &#8216;stealing his identity&#8217;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/celebrity.nine.com.au\/latest\/jake-hall-death-ex-misse-beqiri-issues-heartbreaking-statement\/2330e20a-9b88-4b1a-8443-327c301e8a8c\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Reality star&#039;s daughter&#039;s &#039;heart is shattered&#039; after tragic death\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reality star&#8217;s daughter&#8217;s &#8216;heart is shattered&#8217; after tragic death<\/a><\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/celebrity.nine.com.au\/latest\/melanie-c-cruz-beckham-music-career-spice-girls-viva-forever-viral-moment-interview-exclusive\/5d398944-ffbc-48f1-a5a1-fcf5dcf0c821\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Melanie C on Spice Girls&#039; viral &amp; impromptu moment with Cruz Beckham\">Melanie C on Spice Girls&#8217; viral &amp; impromptu moment with Cruz Beckham<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/ac658653-6dfe-4d11-b5bb-1a6c62964ce6.jpeg\"  alt=\"VIENNA, AUSTRIA - MAY 11: Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski speak onstage during the second dress rehearsal for the semi-final 1 of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest at Wiener Stadthalle on May 11, 2026 in Vienna, Austria.  (Photo by Christian Bruna\/Getty Images)\"\/>She stands to inherit millions from the family company. (Getty)<\/p>\n<p>The company, which is known for selling its crystal jewellery and accessories, is now worth \ufeff$US4.8 billion (approx. $6.6 billion), of which Victoria stands to inherit a part.<\/p>\n<p>The former pop star was previously married to real estate investor Werner M\u00fcrz, but they split in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>She is currently in relationship with Mark Mateschitz, the billionaire owner of 49 per cent of Red Bull, which was founded by his father.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not the only controversy Eurovision has seen this year.<\/p>\n<p>Fans were shocked when <a href=\"https:\/\/celebrity.nine.com.au\/latest\/eurovision-2026-boy-george-eliminated-before-final\/36199dfd-95cc-448a-a134-61f221ab9193\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Boy George was eliminated from the song competition\">Boy George was eliminated from the song competition<\/a>, despite his reputation.<\/p>\n<p>Appearing alongside fellow San Marino representative Senhit, the &#8217;80s music icon and the Italian-born singer performed the song they co-wrote to raucous reception.<\/p>\n<p>Donning a variation of his signature oversized hat and emerging on a glittering throne, the theatrics were sadly not enough to secure the necessary votes for the pair to progress.\ufeff<\/p>\n<p>Though they failed to secure the tiny nation a place in Saturday&#8217;s showpiece, George met the disappointing news with a smile and a wave.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/1c07039c-b718-4671-b579-9ce9053020bb.jpeg\"  alt=\"Victoria Swarovski at the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards in Duesseldorf, Germany. \"\/>Swarovski was previously a pop singer before hosting the German version of Strictly Come Dancing.  (Getty Images for MTV)<\/p>\n<p>Senhit, 46, was just as gracious in defeat after what was her fourth failed Eurovision title attempt.<\/p>\n<p>Taking to <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BoyGeorge\/status\/2054341944696860932\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"social media platform X\" rel=\"nofollow\">social media platform X<\/a>, Boy George expressed his disappointment at having lost out on a place in the \ufefffinals, but thanked his fans for their support nonetheless.<\/p>\n<p>For a daily dose of 9honey, <a href=\"https:\/\/login.nine.com.au\/edm?client_id=honey\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">subscribe to our newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/celebrity.nine.com.au\/2023\/05\/12\/15\/05\/best-memorable-eurovision-songs-performances-all-time\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/5854d57c-fa1b-49c1-979d-6c2a019994cc.png\"  alt=\"best eurovision moments\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The most memorable Eurovision moments of all time<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you voted for us, thank you so much,&#8221; the Culture Club frontman began the post.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was sad we didn&#8217;t get through to the final but my @eurovision experience has been fabulous. I wouldn&#8217;t take a minute of it back.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Thanks to @senhitofficial and the entire San Marino delegation. What a fun bunch.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/entertainment\/latest\/ninecomau-whats-app-signup\/421c4156-5b58-42a0-9c4e-e65401b4e271\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE<\/a>: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\ufeffEurovision host and heiress to the multi-billion dollar jewellery company of the same name, Victoria Swarovski, has hit&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-668311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}