Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Country  Cyprus
National selection
Selection process Internal selection
Selection date(s) Artist: 1 February 2018
Song: 2 March 2018
Selected entrant Eleni Foureira
Selected song "Fuego"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final result Qualified (2nd, 262 points)
Final result 2nd, 436 points
Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2017 • 2018 • 2019►

Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. The Cypriot broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) announced in September 2017 that they had selected the Greek Swedish composer Alex Papaconstantinou to compose the Cypriot entry.[1] While the artist was originally to be selected through a national final, the Cypriot broadcaster later announced that they would internally select both the artist and song.[2][3]

Background

Prior to the 2017 contest, Cyprus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-three times since their debut in 1981.[4] The nation's highest placing in the contest was fifth, which they achieved three times: in 1982 with the song "Mono I Agapi" performed by Anna Vissi, in 1997 with "Mana Mou" performed by Hara and Andreas Constantinou, and 2004 with "Stronger Every Minute" performed by Lisa Andreas. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Cyprus had featured in six finals. Cyprus' least successful result in the final has been last place, which they achieved in 1986 with the song "Tora Zo" performed by Elpida. The country managed to qualify in 2016 represented by the band Minus One with their song "Alter Ego" and ended 21st in the final out of 26 entries. In 2017, Hovig managed to qualify to the final in Kiev, with the song "Gravity," finishing 21st with 68 points.

Before Eurovision

The national broadcaster CyBC announced in September 2017 that they would collaborate with the Greek Swedish composer Alex Papaconstantinou for the composition of the Cypriot entry. The artist will be chosen through a national talent show. Both the song and the artist will be revealed in January 2018.

In 15 September 2017, CyBC showed a televised trailer in order to find the artists that are to participate in the Cypriot final.

In January 2018, rumours arose that CyBC had asked numerous artists including Helena Paparizou and Tamta to present them in the contest. Soon afterwards, it was revealed that the artist would be announced "in a few days".[5]

In January 2018 it was announced that Eleni Foureira had reportedly accepted CyBC's offer and therefore will represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Fuego", written by Alex P, after being rejected by the Greek broadcaster ERT.[6]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 took place at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal and consisted of two semi-finals on 8 and 10 May and the final on 12 May 2018. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progressed to the final.

Semi-final

Favorable reactions to Eleni Foureira's rehearsals made Cyprus a major favorite by the start of the contest, topping the bookmakers' rankings the day of the first semi-final. Cyprus closed the first semi-final, following the entry from Ireland. At the end of the night, Cyprus was one of the ten countries announced as qualifying for the grand final, their fourth qualification in a row since returning to the contest in 2015. Notably, it marked only the sixth time in Eurovision history that Cyprus participated in a Eurovision final without Greece (Greece did not participate in 1982, 1984, 1986, 1999, or 2000, and failed to qualify for the final in 2016). Subsequently, Foureira joined the other qualifying acts in a press conference, during which they drew to see which half of the final they would participate in. Cyprus was drawn to compete in the second half of the final.

Final

Cyprus performed twenty-fifth in the final, following Ireland (as in the semi-final) and preceding Italy. At the end of the night, Cyprus came in fifth place with the jury vote and second with the televote, allowing "Fuego" to finish 2nd overall with 436 points. This marked Cyprus' best-ever result in the contest, as well as their fourth appearance in the top five (following 5th-place finishes for Anna Vissi in 1982, Haras and Andreas Constantinou in 1997, and Lisa Andreas in 2004) and tenth to finish in the top 10 (the first since Andreas).

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

Points awarded to Cyprus

Points awarded to Cyprus (Semi-Final 1)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded to Cyprus (Final)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Cyprus

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Cypriot jury:[7]

  • Elias Antoniades – Chairperson – lyricist, general manager in advertising agency
  • Ioannis Hadjigeorgiou (Yiannis) – journalist, editor, editor in chief
  • Kalliopi Kouroupi – radio producer, account executive in advertising
  • Demetra Georgiou – radio producer, journalist
  • Pavlos Palechorites – musician, music teacher, producer

References

  1. ↑ "Cyprus enlists award-winning composer Alex Papaconstantinou for 2018". 15 September 2017.
  2. ↑ Argyriou, Giannis (5 May 2017). "Cyprus: With a national final in Eurovision 2018". infegreece.gr. InfeGreece. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  3. ↑ "Cyprus: Eurovision Artist Announcement Expected "In A Few Days" - Eurovoix". Eurovoix. 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  4. ↑ "Cyprus | Country profile | Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Cyprus: Eurovision Artist Announcement Expected "In A Few Days" - Eurovoix". Eurovoix. 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  6. ↑ "CYPRUS 2018 🇨🇾 IT'S OFFICIAL: ULTIMATE POP ICON ELENI FOUREIRA TO LISBON WITH THE SONG 'FUEGO' - Oikotimes.com". Oikotimes.com. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  7. ↑ Groot, Evert (30 April 2018). "Exclusive: They are the expert jurors for Eurovision 2018". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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