Cyprus have been participating at Junior Eurovision for many years now, with their first entry in the debut year of the contest itself, back in 2003. Since then, they’ve had a song withdrawn, and they’ve had a few years of break, but in amongst their history at the contest they’ve been fairly consistent with their results. Admittedly, these results are not usually anything to boast about, but sometimes consistency is key! Today we’re going to recap on the previous entries, and then it will be up to you to choose your Junior Best of the Bunch!
We’re starting today’s recap at 2003, where Cyprus (and Junior Eurovision) made their debut. The first act to represent Cyprus was Theodora Rafti with the song Mia Efhi. The performance was very ethereal and charming, definitely thanks to Theodora’s beautiful voice. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a big hit with audiences, with the song finishing in 14th place with 16 points.
The following year, the act that was selected to represent Cyprus was Marios Tofi, who performed the song Oneira. In comparison to their previous entry, this entry was a lot more energetic, and had Elvis vibes with Marios’ costume! The song was a bit more of a success, with the song finishing in 8th place with 61 points.
In 2005, Cyprus intended to participate in the contest with the song Tsirko performed by Rena Kiriakidi, however the song was forced to withdraw after being deemed too similar to an already existing song.
Cyprus returned to the contest in 2006 with Louis Panagiotou and Christina Christofi who performed the song Agoria Koritsia. Matching with their orange and green costumes, what the duo lacked in vocal confidence, they made up with stage presence. The duo finished in 8th place once again, this time with 58 points.
The following year, Cyprus was represented by Yiorgos Ioannides and the song I Musiki Dini Ftera. Yiorgos brought the sass to the stage with his performance, and even got the fellow competitors up and dancing in the green room! The performance landed Cyprus with their second 14th place, this time with 29 points.
In 2008, Cyprus had the pleasure of hosting the contest, despite not winning the year previous (as the rules were different to the tradition of Eurovision hosting). Their representatives were Elena Mannouri and Charis Savva, and their song was Gioupi Gia. Their stage performance was well choreographed and well performed, but once again it wasn’t enough to give Cyprus their first Top 5 placing. The song finished in 10th place with 46 points.
The next year saw Rafaella Kosta represent Cyprus with the song Thalassa, ilios, aeras, fotia. It was the first entry from the nation to feature rock undertones, and it was a confident performance from Rafaella. The song just missed out on the Top 10, finishing in 11th place with 32 points.
Cyprus did not participate between the years of 2010 and 2013.
The nation then returned to the Junior Eurovision stage in 2014 with Sophia Patsalides. The song she performed was titled I Pio Omorfi Mera, or in English, The Most Beautiful Day. It was the most promising Cypriot entry to date, and many thought that she would have a strong chance of achieving the best results for Cyprus thus far. Although promising, it unfortunately still didn’t reach the Top 5, finishing in 9th place with 69 points.
Cyprus then took another break from the contest in 2015!
The nation returned in 2016 with George Michaelides, the young star who boasted incredible dance talent along with vocals. The performance was by far the best choreographed we’ve seen from Cyprus, and from the fellow acts of 2016. It was a punchy performance, although still didn’t reach its potential, finishing in 16th place with 27 points.
Now it’s your turn to vote for your Junior Best of the Bunch!