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Junior Eurovision 2024: Cyprus returns to the contest | Maria Pissarides will represent the country in Madrid!

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It is now official! Cyprus, one of the contest’s founding members, returns to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the first time after seven years.

Moreover, RIK, the Cypriot broadcaster, has also revealed its representative as well, the 11-year-old Maria Pissarides.

Who is Maria Pissarides?

The eleven-year-old Maria Pissarides will participate in Junior Eurovision 2024, being the nation’s tenth representative in the contest. Maria Pissarides is a singer, actress, and dancer and has also studied music theory at a London-based institution.

Maria exhibited a passion for performance from a very young age, while in her home country of Cyprus. She is an enthusiast of the arts and, although her initial steps were in dancing, over time she is progressing on to musical theatre.

Maria has held leading roles in multiple shows within her community, including an adaptation of Matilda. She also likes to write lyrics and has taken part in the European Radio 2023 song writing and singing competition, achieving third place with her team. 

Currently, at 11 years of age, Maria is a full-time student at a performing arts school in the UK and seeks every opportunity to progress and learn new skills. Maria’s favourite day would include watching movies, drawing, playing with her dog, eating chocolate and berries and spending time with her two brothers!

 

Maria’s song as well as the music video will be revealed by RIK at a later stage. In fact, Maria’s entry is written by Sofia Patsalides, the Cypriot entrant in Junior Eurovision 2014.

In the meantime, the dancers who will join Maria Pissarides on the stage in Madrid will be selected through auditions conducted by RIK as well as the spokesperson of the Cypriot votes, who will travel with the delegation in Madrid. The stage performance will be conducted by the British creative director Layla Ellison.

Cyprus in Junior Eurovision 2024

Cyprus is the sixteenth country to confirm its participation in the 22nd Junior Eurovision Song Contest, though another country is also expected to make its return. As we had exclusively informed you before, two countries would make its return in Madrid, with the first ultimately being Cyprus. Regarding the second country, announcements are expected soon.

This year will mark Cyprus’ tenth participation in the contest. The country’s best result is eighth place, in 2004 and 2006, while Cyprus’ last appearance in the contest, in 2017, also marks its worst placement, finishing last.

Will Maria Passarides manage to bring Cyprus its best Junior Eurovision result? Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: RIK

Cyprus: The song for Eurovision 2025 is ready!

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A few days before the official start of the season for Eurovision 2025, CYBC seems to have already advanced to a great extent its preparations for the contest. In the final phase of the discussions is the Cypriot public television with two male artists, who are based in Cyprus. Very soon and after the necessary paperwork is completed, the CYBC will make official announcements.

 

CYBC goes with a young talent from at Eurovision 2025

In our previous article you had read that the next Cypriot representative in the contest would be an artist based in Cyprus and with a guarantee that would allow him to stand worthy on the Eurovision stage.

Therefore, the CYBC evaluation committee concluded on the two best. These are male artists, with significant musical studies, but also with a strong artistic identity. Both cases are considered suitable for representing the country in this important music competition.

How was the choice made?

As you had read in our previous article, the CYBC evaluation committee decided between a short list, which included artists with the following characteristics:

To be able to stand on the demanding Eurovision stage
and as we write above to have its base in Cyprus

Two artists stood out and RIK is in advanced discussions with them, so that once the paperwork is completed, it will be able to make the first announcements within September, with the artist who will be finally selected.

The first details about the song

Every year CYBC chooses the song first and then chooses the artist. This year’s Cypriot participation could not be an exception to this.

The Cyprus song for Eurovision 2025 has already been chosen and it is signed by really great musicians. We will not talk about it, since we neither want to prejudge you nor accuse us of being subjective. But it is very special and fills the Cypriot delegation with more optimism than usual…

Cyprus will be represented with a strong and different song, but also with a project in general that will be discussed and perhaps even leave an era, since it will bring to the fore a great person from the past. But who is he? The answer will be given only in May, on the stage of the competition.

Until then, stay tuned to Eurovisionfun because the Cypriot journey to Eurovision 2025 will be particularly interesting this year!

ERT and RIK do not support the anonymous statement about Eurovision 2024!

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For the past hours, an anonymous statement has been circulating the internet according which delegation members and participants of Eurovision 2024 submitted their complaints about Israel’s participation in this year’s contest. According to our exclusive information, neither ERT nor RIK have signed the following statement.

The following statement as published by ESC Gabe on their X account does not name the delegation members and artists alleged to have signed it, as they want to remain anonymous at the moment:

In recent days, we have seen a number of inaccurate reports about what happened backstage during the Eurovision 2024 contest, the alleged behaviour of artists towards the Israeli delegation, and the events surrounding EBU’s decision to move the Israeli delegation to a location backstage. 

We are concerned about the inaccuracies being reported. During the Eurovision 2024 contest, several artists and national delegations submitted complaints to the EBU for inappropriate behaviour and breach of rules from members of the Israeli delegation.

We are engaging with the EBU and expect these complaints to be duly considered, as per the commitment of EBU’s officials. While there is an ongoing process, it would be inappropriate for us to publicly comment on specific facts, but we will do so, in due course. 

Artists and members of national delegations who participated in the Eurovision 2024 contest

We are now waiting to see whether the statement that is currently circulating the internet will be disputed by other delegations this time, as it has happened before, or delegations and artists will confirm that they have signed the aforementioned statement.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Cyprus: The viewership of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024!

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The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 turned out to be very popular in Cyprus. In detail, 64.8% at average, tuned in to RIK1 on Saturday night, watching the final of this year’s Contest.

Read more

Eurovision 2024: Cyprus’ First Rehearsal!

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The moment all eurofans have been waiting for is finally here! The first rehearsals of Eurovision 2024 have started! The first artist to set foot on the Eurovision stage of Malmö Arena is Silia Kapsis from Cyprus, with her energetic bop ”Liar”!

Who is Silia Kapsis?

Despite only being 17 years old, Silia Kapsis is already a succesful artist in Australia where she resides, as she has her own TV show in Nickelodeon Australia!

She sings and dances amazingly, and as she revealed to Eurovisionfun her big childhood dream was to perform on the Eurovision stage.

Silia is a singer of Cypriot and Greek descent, born in Sydney, Australia, on December 5, 2006 to the Cypriot singer Giorgos Kapsis and the Greek lawyer and former dancer Despina Saivanidis. She has been performing since the age of 4 and has had extensive training with elite artists at the top of their respective fields.

She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Bobby McCloughan Creative Arts Award (130 Anniversary Award) at Claremont College, the St Vincent’s College Madame Christian Scholarship for Singing and most recently, she was the recipient of the Village Nation Performing Arts College Scholarship for All – Round Triple Threat Performer.

She composed her first single “Who Am I?” at the age of 12, but it was released later, only in 2022. Since then she has released three more singles – “No Boys Allowed”, in March 2023, “Disco Dancer”, in May 2023, and “Night Out”, in November 2023.

The Rehearsal

Silia is only 17, but she’s owning this stage like performing in a huge arena is a walk in the park. The gold lamé costume from the official video has been replaced with trousers and a crop top in sparkly white, with four male backing dancers in cargo pants and baggy white t-shirts. No stage props, but lots of swirly green and red graphics on the LED backdrop and floor. The LED graphics look like watery swirls and sine waves and they’re all choreographed to the beat of the music.

Fans of Silia’s dancing will be happy to hear that this performance has a high energy routine and a huge dance break before the bridge into the final chorus – just the kind of upbeat number we need to get the party started on May 7th. Also should mention that the dancers pull their shirts off in the final chorus.

Silia Kapsis from Cyprus - Eurovision 2024 first rehearsal

Silia Kapsis from Cyprus – Eurovision 2024 first rehearsal

The second rehearsal of Cyprus will take place on Wednesday May 1st, when we will have a better picture of what we will see from Silia Kapsis on the Eurovision stage, as we will have the official TV snippet.

Below you can watch a small clip from Cyprus’ first rehearsal from TikTok:

@eurovision She’s got us &lt&ltfeeling like ooh-la-la>>– Cyprus’ Silia Kapsis if officially the first, first rehearsal! #Eurovision2024 @SILIA ♬ original sound – Eurovision

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Cypriot participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Source: eurovision.tv

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Cyprus: Embassy’s Response to the Article by “Nea” Newspaper

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Giannis Poulopoulos of the show “Super Katerina” reached out with a relevant question to the spokesperson of the Cypriot embassy in Athens, inquiring about the veracity of the discussion between the Cypriot Ambassador and the President of ERT, as reported by “Nea” newspaper.

The Cypriot Embassy neither denied nor confirmed the article, offering a brief yet meaningful comment:

“No comment.”

As discussed on the show, the fact that the Embassy neither refutes nor confirms anything speaks volumes. Additionally, attention was drawn to the fact that ERT‘s response came through a personal statement from its President rather than from the company itself, which also carries significant symbolism.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest developments!

Silia Kapsis: “I Don’t Know What Happened Between ERT and CyBC (RIK), I’m Here for the Music”

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Upon her return from Amsterdam, television channels awaited Silia Kapsis at the airport to gauge her reaction to the recent revelations surrounding Konstantinos Zoulas’s statements to the Cypriot ambassador, as reported by the media.

Silia Kapsis admitted she was not well-versed on the matter, revealing that both her mother and the people at RIK had shielded her from reading articles regarding the issue.

“I don’t know what happened between ERT and RIK. I’m here to sing and dance. I’m here for the music,” she stated.

Pressed by journalists, Silia Kapsis acknowledged that if such allegations were true, it saddened her as she wished for Greece and Cyprus to remain united.

“I’m half Greek and half Cypriot. I’m from Thessaloniki and Larnaca. All of this saddens me. Greece and Cyprus should be united. I will sing for both countries,” she declared.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest developments!

Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (RIK): “It is a violation of the regulations what the media reports” | “It is known to the EBU!”

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In a recent segment on RIK1, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (RIK) addressed the allegations raised by the media and clarified its stance on the matter. Andreas Anastasiou, the head of press for the Cypriot delegation, asserted that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is now aware of the situation and emphasized that any such claims constitute a violation of the competition’s regulations.

Anastasiou elaborated on the voting process of the jury committee and addressed concerns regarding statements attributed to the President of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). He stressed that if the reports are accurate, they represent a breach of the rules governing the Eurovision Song Contest.

Highlighting the longstanding relationship between ERT and CyBC, Anastasiou underscored that these allegations may necessitate changes in their dynamic. He reiterated that the EBU has been informed of the situation.

The relations between ERT and CyBC are long-standing and not personalised. If the reports are true, you can understand that some things will change. They are known to the EBU.

Concluding his remarks, Anastasiou extended well wishes to Marina Satti and Greece, making it clear that he was speaking on behalf of CyBC (RIK).

With the matter now brought to the attention of the EBU and considering Anastasiou’s statements, it appears that RIK awaits further developments from the organizing authority. This incident underscores the need for resolution between ERT and RIK, a matter that the EBU will likely need to address once again.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates on this developing situation!

Greece: ERT’s shock confession for predetermined jury vote

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A bombshell news that will disturb the already disturbed relations between RIK and ERT, was published a short while ago by the newspaper Ta Nea.

The Ambassador of Cyprus lights fires

The news, which is also on the cover of the newspaper, concerns an official document – an information letter from Stavros Avgoustidis, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus in Athens, to official bodies of Cyprus, in which he informs the authorities in Nicosia, about what was communicated to him in a recent working meeting at the ERT’s Headquarters, by the President of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), Konstantinos Zoulas, concerning the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest and the jury votes that the Greek jury committee will give to Cyprus.

According to what is revealed in the newspaper, the President of ERT announced on February 22nd to the Cypriot Ambassador in Athens that Greece will give a low score to the Cypriot participation in Eurovision 2024. In more detail, the article states the following:

Official confession for… Eurovision!

Just when you think you have seen it all, the official document signed by the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus in Greece, Stavros Avgoustidis, for his meeting with the President of ERT, Konstantinos Zoulas, comes to leave you… in shock.

This is, in particular, the ambassador’s official briefing to the Presidential Palace of Cyprus, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior, the government spokesman and other official bodies, for his visit on February 21 to ERT’s premises. During their meeting, according to the ambassador, Zoulas referred to the burning issue of… Eurovision, stressing that “as far as Cyprus’ participation in this year’s Eurovision contest is concerned, ERT will not give high marks to the Cypriot entry”.

In other words, he clearly announced the result of the Greek jury, which in February had not even been set up, for a vote that would take place three months later.

The issue is not exactly trivial. This is because, according to the regulations of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) governing the regulation, ERT does not vote, as Zoulas told the Cypriot ambassador, but must set up an independent jury, which is expressly forbidden to be composed of employees of state television, in order to evaluate the entries on artistic criteria alone, without being influenced by external factors.

So one wonders how exactly Zoulas knew the result of such an evaluation by then. Unless he has a talent for futurology, say, or a magic crystal ball…

Awaiting developments in Athens, Nicosia and EBU

Obviously, what the Cypriot ambassador in Athens reports to the government services in Nicosia is very serious and raises relentless questions regarding the credibility of the Greek jury, whose members have already been notified to the EBU, since the deadline was Friday 12 April.

Of course all of the above comes a few months after the uproar and reactions caused by the 4 points given by last year’s Greek jury that deprived Andrew Lambrou and Cyprus of the top 10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q5QozrtEPA

Eurovisionfun will be following the issue and will keep you informed as always for any news on this very serious issue that has arisen and which will obviously monopolize the interest in Greece and Cyprus in the coming days.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all developments!

Cyprus: Silia Kapsis rehearses with the LEDS | Meeting with Marinella!

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Yesterday, the representative of Cyprus, Silia Kapsis alongside her dancers, aand the artistic team of Marvin Dietman and Dan Shipton, were at NOX Athens, where at this time Antonis Remos and Marinella are rehearsing for their joint appearances at the nightclub. Read more