Cyprus has the advantage of being spared from the humiliating big fat zero on the scoreboard. Regardless of how crappy their entry might be, Greece will always shovel at least a couple of points over, under normal circumstances even a “douze points”! After the introduction of the semi-finals Cyprus has really struggled and failed to qualify for the big final every year since 2005. With the exception of the snappy “Comme Ci, Comme Ça” by Evridiki from 2007, we can’t really claim that Cyprus deserved a better outcome. To us it seems like they’re not trying hard enough, being almost indifferent towards how their own country is doing as long as Greece finishes in the Top 10.
This year we will cheer a tiny tad extra for Cyprus. Behind the piano is Sylvia Strand, a fellow Norwegian gone Welsh, member of the backing band The Islanders. All of a sudden she found herself in the spotlight after winning the national selection final in Cyprus with a whopping top score from both the jury and the televoters. An experience she describes as surreal, but super fun! Lead singer Jon Lilygreen is talented and charming, and we find ourselves warming up to his message. Life does of course look better in spring when it’s Eurovision time!
We do wish to see Cyprus entering the final this year, however we are not quite sure if televoters in Baku, Minsk and Belgrade share our enthusiasm.