Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
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Cyprus| Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2018 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) | |||
| Country | Cyprus | |||
| Selection process | Internal selection | |||
| Announcement date | 1 February 2018 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Fuego" | |||
| Artist | Eleni Foureira | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Semi-final result | Qualified (2nd, 262 points) | |||
| Final result | 2nd, 436 points | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Cyprus was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Fuego", written by Alex Papaconstantinou, Gerlado Sandell, Viktor Svensson, Anderz Wrethov and Didrick, and performed by Greek singer Eleni Foureira. The Cypriot participating broadcaster, Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), originally planned to select its entry through a televised national final 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 it opted to choose its entry via an internal selection. Foureira was announced as the singer 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 in mid-April to prepare for the competition 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 in the island nation's best ever result of its Eurovision Song Contest history.
Prior to the 2018 contest, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Cyprus thirty-four times since its debut in the 1981 contest.[1] Its best placing was fifth, 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 in 2004 with "Stronger Every Minute" performed by Lisa Andreas. Its least successful result was in 1986 when it placed last with the song "Tora zo" by Elpida, receiving only four points in total. Its worst finish in terms of points received, however, was in 1999 when it placed second to last with "Tha'nai erotas" by Marlain Angelidou, receiving only two points.[2] After returning to the contest in 2015 following their one-year withdrawal from the 2014 edition due to the 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis and the broadcaster's budget restrictions,[3] it has managed to qualify for the final in all of the contests it has participated in.[2]
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, CyBC organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its intentions to participate at the 2018 contest on 22 August 2017.[4] CyBC has used various methods to select its 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 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.[5]
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
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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.[6] 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. 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.[7] CyBC employed Greek–Swedish composer and songwriter Alex Papaconstantinou to compose the Cypriot entry.[8]
Auditions began on 23 November in front of the expert jury which was composed of choreographer Charis Savvas, Melodifestivalen producer and 1992 Swedish Eurovision entrant Christer Björkman and Papaconstantinou.[9] By 19 December, the number of potential artists was lowered from 60 to 24.[10] CyBC stopped the auditions in January 2018 and selected the artist and the song internally.[11] One artist rumoured in the press to be the Cypriot representative in the contest was Helena Paparizou, who won Eurovision for Greece in 2005, who met with executives of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) in Athens.[12] She declined as she did not feel that participation was the best for her in that period of her life.[13] Singer Tamta was also approached by ERT but she also declined because of prior commitments.[14] 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".[14]
On 1 February, Greek singer Eleni Foureira was confirmed as the Cypriot entrant for the 2018 contest by CyBC and would perform the song "Fuego".[15] 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.[16] 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."[17]
Preparation
On 2 March, "Fuego" and its accompanying music video was premiered on CyBC's evening news bulletin.[18] The video, directed by Apollon Papatheoharis, was filmed in February 2018 near the Piraeus Municipal Theatre in Piraeus and in the town of Marathon, and depicts Fouriera in various costumes taking "a visual and spiritual journey that shows off her versatility."[19][20] 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.[21][22] Foureira later flew to the Swedish capital of Stockholm 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.[23]
