You can’t break a broken heart, but you can definitely change your plans! Cyprus’ broadcaster CyBC was planning to use a talent show as selection format for Eurovision 2024, even before the contest in Liverpool happened. The preparations for the show are underway — but now everything has changed completely.
Soon after CyBC confirmed that it would use Fame Story as their method of selecting an act for Malmö, Greek broadcaster ERT started complaining. They were reportedly unhappy with the show being produced in Greece. Additionally, Fame Story was meant to not only air in Cyprus but also in Greece on Star Channel – which also bent ERT out of shape. So the broadcaster decided to contact EBU and file a complaint. Now guess what? The EBU actually agreed with the Greek broadcaster and contacted CyBC to clarify the situation.
According to reports, one of EBU’s rules for the competition says that a national final should only be produced in the respective broadcasters’ country. They need to get a special permit to produce and air it in another country, and the EBU obviously didn’t give such a permit to Cyprus. This reportedly led to CyBC’s decision to axe its plans to use Fame Story as the official Eurovision selection show.
The Cypriot broadcaster initially thought about staging a new selection show in January. But this plan also got scraped. That’s because CyBC has apparently found an artist (and allegedly a song) suitable for next year’s contest in Sweden. This means: Cyprus already decided on their entry for 2024!
As a result, Fame Story will now not even broadcast on CyBC, but on a private TV channel in Cyprus. It will still be a talent show which determines a future star for Cyprus and Greece but it no longer has any connection to Eurovision. All of this this leads to one big question: Who could possibly represent Cyprus in Malmö?
Who will sing for Cyprus at Eurovision 2024?
According to reports, the delegation in Cyprus is already very confident about their act and expect to place high at Eurovision in 2024. Could this mean they managed to get Eleni Foureira back? The Fuego-singer already expressed her interest to return to the competition one day. During an interview earlier this year she teased a possible return – but this time for Greece.
Another name that’s been circulating within the Eurovison bubble for years is Greek-American singer Evangelia. She managed to gain a lot of fans over the past few years with her captivating, contemporary songs – which often combine Greek and Western elements. Evangelia has already collaborated with Eurovision 2022 singer Amanda Tenfjord and megastar Eleni Foureira, and she publicly confirmed her intentions to represent Cyprus or Greece at Eurovision. Last year her song “Páli” got rejected by the Greek broadcaster ERT. She’s managed by PANIK Records.
Antigoni has also tried to get the Eurovision ticket before. With her raspy voice, she’s already gained numerous followers and fans, so the contest in Malmö next year would be a great next step in her career. Antigoni was born in London but is of Greek-Cypriot origin.
With Nikos Gkanos, Sandro (who was chosen to represent Cyprus in 2020 but in the end never did due to Covid) and Leon of Athens, male singers also remain on the list of possible Eurovision acts for Cyprus. All of them have shown interest in the past and could possibly represent Greece or indeed Cyprus next year in Malmö, Sweden.
What do you think of Cyprus and selecting an artist internally again? Who could represent the island in 2024 at Eurovision? Let us know in the comments below.
