Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
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Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
participated in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song " Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broa ...
with the song " Fuego" written by
Alex P Alexander "Alex P" Papaconstantinou (Greek: Αλέξανδρος "Άλεξ" Παπακωνσταντίνου; born 29 December 1979 in Brännkyrka, Sweden) is a Greek-Swedish songwriter and music producer. He has worked with a number of artists ...
apaconstantinou, Gerlado Sandell, Viktor Svensson,
Anderz Wrethov Anders Wrethov, professionally known as Anderz Wrethov, is a Swedish songwriter and producer. Biography Wrethov was born in Trelleborg and grew up in Vellinge. He graduated from Musikhögskolan in Malmö in 2002. He sings and plays the piano ...
and Didrick. The song was performed by Greek singer
Eleni Foureira Eleni Foureira ( el, Ελένη Φουρέιρα; born Entela Fureraj; 7 March 1987) is a naturalised Greek, Albanian singer and dancer. She began her music career in 2007 as a member of the Greek girl group Mystique, pursuing a solo career after ...
, who had previously attempted to represent
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2010 The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "Fairytale (Alexander Rybak song), Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak. Organise ...
. The Cypriot entry for the 2018 contest in
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, Portugal was originally planned to be selected through a televised national final by the country's public broadcasting service
Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation ( gr, Ραδιοφωνικό Ίδρυμα Κύπρου , tr, Kıbrıs Radyo Yayın Kurumu), or CyBC (ΡΙΚ, KRYK), is Cyprus' public broadcasting service. It transmits island-wide on four radio and two domestic ...
(CyBC) with half the points being given by a televote and the other half a jury vote, but this aspect was discarded in January 2018 and the broadcaster opted to choose the artist via an internal selection. Foureira was announced as the singer who would represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 on 1 February, and her song "Fuego" and the accompanying music video premiered on the CyBC evening news bulletin on 2 March. Foureira travelled to
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
in mid-April to prepare for the competition in Lisbon by meeting and working with her dancers. Cyprus was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 8 May 2018. Performing as the closing entry of the show in position 19, "Fuego" was announced among the top 10 entries and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 12 May. It was later revealed that Cyprus placed second out of eighteen participating countries in the first semi-final with 262 points. In the final, Cyprus performed second-to-last in position twenty-five and received 436 points, finishing as runners-up to
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in the island nation's best ever result of its Eurovision Song Contest history.


Background

Prior to the 2018 contest, Cyprus had participated in the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
thirty-four times since the island country made its debut in the 1981 contest. Its best placing was fifth, which it achieved three times: in the 1982 competition with the song "Mono i agapi" performed by
Anna Vissi Anna Vissi ( el, Άννα Βίσση, , ; born 20 December 1957), is a Greek Cypriot singer and songwriter. She studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, in 1973, where she signed ...
, in the 1997 edition with "Mana mou" performed by Hara and Andreas Constantinou, and the 2004 contest with "Stronger Every Minute" performed by
Lisa Andreas Lisa Andreas (born Lisa Large; 22 December 1987) is an English singer. She represented Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 and came fifth with her performance of "Stronger Every Minute". At the age of 16, Andreas was the youngest singer t ...
. Cyprus' least successful result was in the 1986 contest when it placed last with the song "Tora zo" by Elpida, receiving only four points in total. However, its worst finish in terms of points received was when it placed second to last in the 1999 contest with "Tha'nai erotas" by
Marlain Angelidou Marlain Angelides (Greek: Μαρλέν Αγγελίδου) is a Greek-Cypriot singer and actress. She was a member of the Greek girl group Hi-5, and represented Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 with " Tha 'Ne Erotas". Angelidou, her ...
, receiving only two points. After returning to the contest in
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
following their one-year withdrawal from the 2014 edition due to the
2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
and the broadcaster's budget restrictions, Cyprus has managed to qualify for the final in all of the contests it has participated in. The Cypriot national broadcaster,
Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation ( gr, Ραδιοφωνικό Ίδρυμα Κύπρου , tr, Kıbrıs Radyo Yayın Kurumu), or CyBC (ΡΙΚ, KRYK), is Cyprus' public broadcasting service. It transmits island-wide on four radio and two domestic ...
(CyBC), broadcasts the event within Cyprus and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. CyBC confirmed their intentions to participate at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song " Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broa ...
on 22 August 2017. Cyprus has used various methods to select the Cypriot entry in the past, such as internal selections and televised national finals to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. In 2015, the broadcaster organised the national final ''Eurovision Song Project'', which featured 54 songs competing in a nine-week-long process resulting in the selection of the Cypriot entry through the combination of public
televoting Televoting, telephone voting or phone voting is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone. Broadcast contest televoting Televoting ...
and the votes from an expert jury. In 2018, CyBC had intended to broadcast a televised national final to select the artist and song before it was switched to an internal selection.


Before Eurovision


Internal selection

CyBC began to hold internal meetings to discuss the eligibility and rules of its national final to select the artist for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in June 2017. Three months later, a set of rules regarding the requirements of potential entrants was announced via a communiqué. The entry period was slated to end on 20 October. The artist had to be aged 16 or over at the time of eligibility and that the singer or either of their parents had to be in possession of
Cypriot citizenship Cypriot nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Cyprus. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Republic of Cyprus Citizenship Law, 1967, which came into force on 28 July 1967. Regulations apply ...
. Applicants who met CyBC requirements were planned to take part in a first selection phase and a round of televised auditions would occur for artists that progressed to the second phase. The winner of the final would be decided equally amongst a jury vote and televoting. CyBC employed Greek–Swedish composer and songwriter
Alex P Alexander "Alex P" Papaconstantinou (Greek: Αλέξανδρος "Άλεξ" Παπακωνσταντίνου; born 29 December 1979 in Brännkyrka, Sweden) is a Greek-Swedish songwriter and music producer. He has worked with a number of artists ...
apaconstantinou to compose the Cypriot entry. Auditions began on 23 November in front of the expert jury which was composed of choreographer Charis Savvas,
Melodifestivalen Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song ...
producer and 1992 Swedish Eurovision entrant
Christer Björkman Christer Samuel Björkman (; born 25 August 1957) is a Swedish singer and television producer. He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 with the song "I morgon är en annan dag". From 2002 to 2021, he served as a producer of Me ...
and Papaconstantinou. By 19 December, the number of potential artists was lowered from 60 to 24. CyBC stopped the auditions in January 2018 and selected the artist and the song internally. One artist rumoured in the press to be the Cypriot representative in the contest was the 2005 winner for Greece
Helena Paparizou Helena Paparizou (; , ; born 31 January 1962) is a Swedish-born Greek singer, songwriter and television personality. Born and raised in Sweden to Greeks, Greek parents, she enrolled in various arts schools before launching a career in Sweden in ...
who met with executives of the
Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation ( el, Ελληνική Ραδιοφωνία Τηλεόραση AE, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi SA) or ERT () is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Greece. History Overview ERT b ...
(ERT) in Athens. She declined as she did not feel that participation was the best for her in that period of her life. Singer
Tamta Tamta Goduadze ( ka, თამთა გოდუაძე; el, Τάμτα Γκοντουάτζε, Támta Gkontouátze; born 10 January 1981), known mononymously as Tamta, is a Georgian-Greek singer. She first achieved popularity in Greece in ...
was also approached by ERT but she also declined because of prior commitments. CyBC subsequently announced to the media that the artist who would represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest would be revealed "in a few days". On 1 February, the Albanian-Greek singer
Eleni Foureira Eleni Foureira ( el, Ελένη Φουρέιρα; born Entela Fureraj; 7 March 1987) is a naturalised Greek, Albanian singer and dancer. She began her music career in 2007 as a member of the Greek girl group Mystique, pursuing a solo career after ...
was confirmed as the Cypriot entrant for the 2018 contest by CyBC and would perform the song " Fuego". Foureira had attempted to enter Eurovision twice before, both times for Greece: in 2010 she came second in the national final with the song "Kivotos tou Noe", and in 2016 she approached ERT to perform "Ti koitas (Come Tiki Tam)" in Stockholm but ERT declined the offer. In a press conference after a short video about her was broadcast, she said she would promise to perform to the best of her ability in Lisbon, saying "I would like to say a big thank you to CyBC and all the Cypriot people, for giving me this opportunity. It is a great honour for me to represent this wonderful country which has supported me so much for all of these years."


Preparation

On 2 March, "Fuego" and its accompanying music video was premiered on CyBC's evening news bulletin. The video, directed by Apollon Papatheoharis, was filmed in February 2018 near the Piraeus Municipal Theatre in
Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
and in the town of
Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
, and depicts Fouriera in various costumes taking "a visual and spiritual journey that shows off her versatility." Foureira flew to Lisbon on 14 March to film the Cypriot postcard that was broadcast before she performed on the Eurovision stage as a means of promoting the country. She is seen walking through the streets of Lisbon and arrives at the Ribeira Market to shop and cook local Portuguese cuisine with the chef Justa Nobre. Foureira later flew to the Swedish capital of
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
in mid-April and spent a week in the country acquainting herself with her troupe and rehearsing to make adjustments to her performance for the Eurovision Song Contest.


At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations except for the host country and the " Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
(EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held in
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, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Cyprus was placed into the first semi-final to be held on 8 May, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. Once all the competing songs for the 2018 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through a second draw on 3 April, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Cyprus was set to perform in position 19, following the entry from
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Cyprus by public broadcasting service CyBC with commentary from Costas Constantinou and Vaso Komninou. The Cypriot spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Cypriot jury during the final, was singer Hovig. According to the AGB Nielsen Media Research for viewership ratings, the first semi-final attracted 158,420 viewers watching live on 8 May, representing a market share of 35.9 per cent. The second semi-final was watched by 65,230 people and had an audience share of 25.4 per cent. The final on 12 May had a television audience 245,740 viewers, and achieved an audience share of 77.4 per cent in that time slot, setting a new record audience for any Eurovision broadcast in Cypriot history.


Semi-final

Foureira took part in a half-hour technical rehearsal on 30 April, followed by another rehearsal that lasted for 20 minutes on 4 May. She took part dress rehearsals for the first semi-final on 7 and 8 May. This included the jury show for the first semi-final on the evening of 7 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. On the day of the first semi-final,
bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...
s considered Cyprus to be the most likely country to secure qualification to the final on 12 May. The Cypriot performance featured Foureira in a glittery gold sequin
catsuit A catsuit is a one-piece form-fitting garment that covers the torso and the legs, and frequently the arms. They are usually made from stretchable material, such as lycra, chiffon, spandex (after 1959), latex, or velour, but may use less elasti ...
, designed by Greek fashion designer Vrettos Vrettakos. She wore a black mini jacket with a transparent area around her stomach and golden high-heel boots. She was joined by four female backing dancers dressed in black and silver catsuits and transparent
stiletto heel A stiletto heel, or just stiletto, is a shoe with a long, thin, high heel. It is named after the stiletto dagger. Stiletto heels may vary in length from 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) to 25 cm (10 inches) or more if a platform s ...
s to ensure Foureira would be the primary focus. The performance began with the front and centre of Foureira's silhouette against a light tunnel illuminated blue by laser lights. After she walked through the tunnel and began performing the lights changed to red for the first verse of "Fuego", which was also when her backing dancers entered the choreography. The choreography included Foureira whipping around her hair, side stepping, hip swivelling, and catwalk strutting across the stage with her troupe. Sections of the second part of the show featured smoke in shades of purple, and fireballs emerging from the edge of the circular stage. Both of these were also digitally recreated on the large screen projector behind Foureira. The stage director of the Cypriot performance was choreographer Sacha Jean-Baptiste who had previously been involved in the Eurovision Song Contest since the 2016 edition. At the end of the first semi-final, Cyprus was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Cyprus had placed second in the first semi-final, receiving a total of 262 points, 173 points from the televoting and 89 points from the juries.


Final

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Cyprus was drawn to compete in the second half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-final. Cyprus was subsequently placed to perform in position 25, following the entry from Ireland and before the entry from
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. On the day of the grand final, bookmakers considered Cyprus the favourites to win the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in its history. Foureira once again took part in dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Foureira performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 12 May. Cyprus took their best ever result in the Eurovision Song Contest as they placed as the runners-up in the final, scoring 436 points: 253 points from the televoting and 183 points from the juries, including twelve points from the juries of
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,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, Ireland,
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
,
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and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.


Marcel Bezençon Awards

The
Marcel Bezençon Awards The Marcel Bezençon Awards were first handed out during the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia honouring the best competing songs in the final. Founded by Christer Björkman ( Sweden's representative in the Eurovision Song Contes ...
, first awarded during the 2002 contest, are awards honouring the best competing songs in the final each year. Named after the creator of the annual contest,
Marcel Bezençon Marcel Bezençon (; 1 May 1907 – 17 February 1981) was a Swiss journalist, media executive and the director of the European Broadcasting Union between 1954 and 1970. In 1955, he conceived the idea of the Eurovision Song Contest, based on the fa ...
, the awards are divided into 3 categories: the Press Award, given to the best entry as voted on by the accredited media and press during the event; the Artistic Award, presented to the best artist as voted on by the shows' commentators; and the Composer Award, given to the best and most original composition as voted by the participating composers. Foureira was awarded the Artistic Award, which was accepted at the awards ceremony by the singer.


Voting

Every country voted to award two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12 in the three shows: 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. The individual rankings of each jury member and the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Cyprus and awarded by the island nation in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows. Cyprus' televoters and jury awarded 12 points to Greece and
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
respectively in the first semi-final. In the final, the televoters awarded 12 points to
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and the jury gave their 12 points to Sweden.


Points awarded to Cyprus


Points awarded by Cyprus


Detailed voting results

The following five members composed the Cypriot jury: Jury members were required to rank every song in the respective shows; the combined score were added to determine the jury's final result. * Elias Antoniades (jury chairperson)lyricist, general manager in advertising agency * Ioannis Hadjigeorgiou (Yiannis)journalist, editor, editor in chief * Kalliopi Kouroupiradio producer, account executive in advertising * Demetra Georgiouradio producer, journalist * Pavlos Palechoritesmusician, music teacher, producer


References


External links

* {{Portal bar, Cyprus
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Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...