Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Background

Prior to the 2015 Contest, Cyprus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-one times since its first entry in 1981. Its best placing was fifth, which it 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. Cyprus' least successful result was in 1986 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 1999 with "Tha'nai Erotas" by Marlain Angelidou, receiving only two. In 2012, Cyprus selected Ivi Adamou to represent the country in Baku. Adamou achieved the 16th place in the final making it their best result since 2004. In 2013, Cyprus failed to qualify to the final after selecting Despina Olympiou to represent the country. In October 2013, the withdrawal from the 2014 contest was announced, the broadcaster cited the public opinion regarding the 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis and budget restrictions as factors that influenced this decision.

Before having an official confirmation from the Cypriot broadcaster, it was reported that Cyprus would be returning to the contest for the 60th anniversary. On 31 May 2014, it was reported by London Greek Radio that CyBC was preparing a national selection. It was officially confirmed on 14 July 2014 that Cyprus would be returning to the contest with a national selection being held to select their thirty-second entry.

Eurovision Song Project

The Eurovision Song Project was the event that will select the Cypriot entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria. Although the national selection was officially confirmed in July 2014, there were rumors regarding the selection since late May 2014. The selection was announced along with the confirmation of the country. A trailer for the selection was first seen on 14 July 2014. The selection consists of four phases: the auditions, the eurochallenge and the final.

On 17 October 2014, it was revealed that Ivi Adamou received a proposition by the channel in order to be the presenter of the national selection. However, it was later announced by CyBC that Antri Karantoni would be presenting the selection. The jury consists of Despina Olympiou (2013), Alex Panayi (1995, 2000), Elena Patroklou (1991) and Tasos Tryfonos. Also, Christer Bjorkman, Dimitris Kontopoulos, Nicola Caligiore and Bruno Berberes joined as judges of the selection.

By September 2014, CyBC had received applications from more than 100 singers including Valanto Trifonos (Cypriot selection 2006, Greek selection 2011), Dimos Beke (1993 and 2002), Philipos Konstantinos (2002) and Constantinos Christoforou (1996, 2002, 2005). Christoforou did not apply to participate in the selection as a performer but as a composer with the performer being his brother, Stefanos Christoforou. The list of the participants was published on 20 October 2014.

Format and rules

The rules and the submissions forms were available through the broadcaster's website. All the rules of the Eurovision apply, such as the 3-minute rule and the song's originality. Additionally, it is required that the singer and the songwriters are of Cypriot origin. Each composer or performer is able to submit only two entries. The deadline for the submissions was on 5 September 2014. There are three phases and a total of nine shows: the auditions, the eurochallenges and the final.

The auditions, the longest phase of the selection, consisted of six shows and began on 7 December 2014. Each show included: the Eurobox, where each artist talks about their life and connection to the contest along with a cover of a Eurovision entry of the past 60 years; the Viewing Room, where relatives and friends watch the performance of the artist; and the Eurostudio, where the artist performs their song and the jury will decide whether the artist should proceed or not to the next phase. The artists only performed half of their songs and in order to proceed to the next phase, the artist must have received at least three "yes" from the jury. Twenty out of the fifty-five artists proceeded to the next phase.

The second phase, the Eurochallenges, consisted of two shows and included the same parts as the auditions with the only difference being in the Eurostudio. During the first show of the phase, the twenty artists were asked to make a stage performance of their songs (without dancers). The jury then decided which ten artists would proceed to the next Eurochallenge. During the second show of the phase, the ten artists performed a Eurovision entry of the past 60 years solely with a piano. There were also journalists interviewing each contestant. As in the first show of the phase, the jury decide the six artists that would proceed to the final.

The public voting for the final began after the second Eurochallenge on 25 January 2015 and concluded on 1 February 2015 during the final of the selection. In the final, the six artists performed their song and the winning song of the selection will be decided through a 50/50 jury-televoting deliberation.

Auditions

The auditions consisted of six shows with the first show being on 7 December 2014 and the last show being on 11 January 2015. Out of the fifty-five participants, twenty advanced to the Eurochallenge.

Audition 1 (7 December 2014)

The first audition was broadcast on 7 December 2014. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.

Audition 2 (14 December 2014)

The second audition was broadcast on 14 December 2014. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.

Audition 3 (21 December 2014)

The third audition was broadcast on 21 December 2014. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.

Audition 4 (28 December 2014)

The fourth audition was broadcast on 28 December 2014. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.

Audition 5 (5 January 2015)

The fifth audition was broadcast on 5 January 2015. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.

Audition 6 (11 January 2015)

The sixth audition was broadcast on 11 January 2015. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.

Eurochallenges

The Eurochallenges consisted of two shows, originally scheduled to take place on 18 and 25 January 2015. However, some days before the first show's broadcast, it was revealed that the shows would be broadcast two days earlier than expected, on 16 and 23 January 2015. Out of the twenty participants, six advanced to the final.

Eurochallenge 1 (16 January 2015)

The first Eurochallenge was broadcast on 16 January 2015. Each artist performed their national selection songs in full. After a voting procedure, the ten artists that got the most points from the judges advanced to the next Eurochallenge. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou, Tasos Tryfonos, Christer Björkman and Dimitris Kontopoulos.

Eurochallenge 2 (23 January 2015)

The second Eurochallenge was broadcast on 23 January 2015. Each artist performed their national selection songs in full. After a voting procedure, the six artists that got the most points from the judges advanced to the grand final on 1 February 2015. The judging panel once again consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou, Tasos Tryfonos, Christer Björkman and Dimitris Kontopoulos.

Final (1 February 2015)

The grand final was broadcast on 1 February 2015. Each artist performed their national selection songs in full. Voting lines for the Cypriot public opened at the end of the second Eurochallenge show. The method for ranking entries was a 50/50 combination of both telephone vote and the six jury members; Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou, Tasos Tryfonos, Nicola Caligiore, and Bruno Berberes.

At Eurovision

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) 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. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 26 January 2015, a special allocation draw was held 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 second semi-final, to be held on 21 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.

Once all the competing songs for the 2015 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Cyprus was set to perform in position 15, following the entry from Switzerland and before the entry from Slovenia. All three shows were televised on RIK 1, RIK SAT, RIK HD and Trito Programma with commentary by Melina Karageorgiou. The Cypriot spokesperson, who announced the Cypriot votes during the final, was Loukas Hamatsos.

Semi-final

John Karayiannis took part in technical rehearsals on 14 and 16 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 20 and 21 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.

At the start of the song the arena was plunged into darkness and John had a single spotlight shining down from above on him. The initial shots were all shot in black and white. John was dressed very smartly in a black suit and black tie, and was wearing his trademark glasses. Gradually the light increases and the LED screens showed star-like background, with the lighting having various hues of blue, purple and orange. Around two minutes into the song this background exploded into flame-like bursts of light on key moments in the lyrics, especially on the 'I should' line.

At the end of the show, Cyprus was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that the Cyprus sixth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 87 points.

Final

Shortly after the second semi-final, a winner's 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 were announced during the semi-final. Cyprus was drawn to compete in the first half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Cyprus was subsequently placed to perform in position 11, following the entry from Sweden and before the entry from Australia.

John Karayiannisonce again took part in dress rehearsals on 22 and 23 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Cyprus performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 23 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Cyprus placed twenty-second with 11 points.

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant 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 could 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 were released shortly after the grand final.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Cyprus had placed twenty-third with the public televote and ninth with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Cyprus scored 8 points finishing in tenth place, while in the jury vote, Cyprus placed ninth with 63 points. In the second semi-final, Cyprus placed eighth with the public televote receiving 80 points and eighth with the jury vote with 76 points.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Cyprus and awarded by Cyprus in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Cypriot jury:

Semi-final 2

The Cypriot votes in the second semi-final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.

Final

The Cypriot votes in the final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.