Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017

Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Gravity" written by Thomas G:son. The song will be performed by Hovig, who was selected by the Cypriot broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) in October 2016 to represent Cyprus at the 2017 contest in Kiev, Ukraine. The Cypriot song, "Gravity", was presented to the public on 1 March 2017.

Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Country Cyprus
National selection
Selection processInternal Selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 21 October 2016
Song: 1 March 2017
Selected entrantHovig
Selected song"Gravity"
Selected songwriter(s)Thomas G:Son
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (5th, 164 points)
Final result21st, 68 points
Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2016 • 2017 • 2018►

Cyprus was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 2017. Performing during the show in position 15, "Gravity" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 13 May.

Background
Main article: Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2017 contest, Cyprus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-three times since their debut in 1981.[1] The nation's highest placing in the contest was fifth, which they 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. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Cyprus had featured in six finals. Cyprus' least successful result in the final has been last place, which they achieved in 1986 with the song "Tora Zo" performed by Elpida. The country managed to qualify in 2016 represented by the band Minus One with their song "Alter Ego" and ended 21st in the final out of 26 entries.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

The Cypriot broadcaster CyBC confirmed on 8 August 2016 their intention to participate in the 2017 edition. It was later announced that, like the year before, an internal selection would be used.[2] On 21 October 2016, it was announced that Hovig would be the Cypriot entrant with a song written by Thomas G:Son, while Haris Savva would be in charge of the staging. The Cypriot song for the contest, "Gravity", was presented to the public on 1 March 2017.

Promotion

Hovig made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Gravity" as the Cypriot Eurovision entry. On 8 April, he performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Selma Björnsdóttir.[3] On 15 April, Hovig performed during the Eurovision Spain Pre-Party, which was held at the Sala La Riviera venue in Madrid, Spain.[4]

At Eurovision
Hovig during a press meet and greet

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. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[5] On 31 January 2017, 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 first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2017, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[6]

Once all the competing songs for the 2017 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 the Czech Republic and before the entry from Armenia.[7]

Semi-final

Hovig took part in technical rehearsals on 30 April and 4 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 8 and 9 May. This included the jury show on 8 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

At the end of the show, Cyprus was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Cyprus placed fifth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 164 points: 103 points from the televoting and 61 points from the juries.

Points awarded to Cyprus
Points awarded to Cyprus (Semi-final 1)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded to Cyprus (final)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Cyprus

Final

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' 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 reverse order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Cyprus was drawn to compete in the second half.

Voting on the Cypriot jury were: - Stavros Stavrou - Tassos Evaggelou - Eleni Sidera - Stella Georgiadou - Yiannis Toumazis

Split voting results from Cyprus (Semi-final 1)
Draw Country Jury Televote
S. Stavrou T. Evaggelou E. Sidera S. Georgiadou Y. Toumazis Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Sweden323253865
02 Georgia12171414614101
03 Australia632884792
04 Albania15161616171617
05 Belgium10991038374
06 Montenegro17131717161716
07 Finland5104745612
08 Azerbaijan45791274210
09 Portugal1713121056
10 Greece21612112112
11 Poland841211139283
12 Moldova1611114151247
13 Iceland912101571113
14 Czech Republic138813910115
15 Cyprus
16 Armenia7656106538
17 Slovenia1414135141314
18 Latvia11151512111511
Split voting results from Cyprus (final)
Draw Country Jury Televote
S. Stavrou T. Evaggelou E. Sidera S. Georgiadou Y. Toumazis Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Israel1461614131115
02 Poland21101419191917
03 Belarus16241717252122
04 Austria915818201519
05 Armenia15137201012101
06 Netherlands182324471718
07 Moldova2514186111656
08 Hungary124924161312
09 Italy1532421038
10 Denmark7161312211424
11 Portugal391933847
12 Azerbaijan10810131710111
13 Croatia24252521182514
14 Australia117411147413
15 Greece21612112112
16 Spain19202110121823
17 Norway20212323232421
18 United Kingdom4122786516
19 Cyprus
20 Romania2322201592074
21 Germany17191922242225
22 Ukraine22182225222320
23 Belgium131711818392
24 Sweden6353155665
25 Bulgaria52125647210
26 France811151659283

See also

References
  1. "Cyprus | Country profile | Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  2. Jiandani, Sanjay (19 October 2016). "Cyprus CyBC goes internal for Eurovision 2017 announcement on 21 October". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  3. Jordan, Paul (29 March 2017). "Eurovision in Concert sets a new record with 33 acts". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  4. Fuster, Luis (1 April 2017). "MADRID CALLING! 19 ACTS WILL TAKE PART IN EUROVISION SPAIN PRE-PARTY". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  5. Jordan, Paul (25 January 2017). "Semi-Final Allocation draw to take place in Kyiv". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  6. Jordan, Paul (31 January 2017). "Results of the Semi-Final Allocation Draw". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  7. Jordan, Paul (31 March 2017). "Semi-Final running order for Eurovision 2017 revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
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