The HoD Spotlight: In Conversation With Cyprus’ Evi Papamichael Written by John Lucas on March 13, 2016 | 2 Comments

Evi Papamichael has a long association with the Eurovision Song Contest. From 1991 until 2006 she could be heard as Cypriot broadcaster CyBC’s official commentator for the Song Contest. She also worked as a producer and TV director on many of Cyprus’ national finals, in addition to helping to produce many of the official video clips that went out to promote the Cypriot entries.

In 2007 she stepped into the role of Head of Delegation for the island nation, liaising with the EBU and the national broadcaster and taking charge of all key decision making concerning Cyprus’ annual participation in the Contest. With that in mind, she struck as the perfect candidate for the first in our series of discussions with the people who work behind the scenes to make Eurovision happen on a national level.

Eurovision: Who Decides?

Like many smaller broadcasters, CyBC tends to vary their annual selection method depending on various factors. Evi admits that this year’s decision to make an internal selection was primarily a matter of budget. A national final can bring in high ratings, but must be balanced against the cost of producing a viable show.

However, the Cypriot public was not completely without a say in things this year. The group Minus One first came to attention in the 2015 national final ‘Eurovision Song Project’, where they ultimately finished third with their entry Shine. Evi notes that the group was very well received by the public despite their failure to win that year, and there was considerable feedback urging them to consider the group for 2016, making them the delegation’s first choice when the decision to make an internal selection was finalised. 

Once the group had signed up, the next step was to help them to find a viable entry. It was Evi and the Cypriot delegation who suggested to Minus One that they reach out to Swedish songwriter Thomas G:son, whose CV includes successful entries for Spain (‘Quedate Conmigo‘), Denmark (‘In A Moment Like This‘) and Georgia (‘Warrior‘) in addition to having written and produced Sweden’s 2012 winner ‘Euphoria‘.

The result of their collaboration is the hard-rocking ‘Alter Ego’, which has been warmly received by fans and already seen Cyprus’ odds of success in the 2016 contest slashed considerably. Some fans may question the dominance of Swedish songwriters and producers in international selection processes, but Evi is confident that it was the right decision for Cyprus this year. “Many times in the past we selected songs with a Cypriot touch”, she explains. “This time, we decided to try something different”.

There’s no denying that Cyprus tends to perform better when they embrace a more international sound – their four qualifying entries to date have all been English language songs produced in collaboration with foreign songwriting and production teams, while efforts with a more ethnic flavour, such as ‘San aggelos s’agapisa‘ by Christos Mylordos and ‘An me thimasai‘ by Despina Olympiou, were left in the Semi Finals.

As a small country with a population of around 1.2 million, Cyprus has no major music industry to speak of, so the opportunity represented by Eurovision is huge – particularly for artists who reach the grand final. Ivi Adamou’s 2012 entry La La Love may have only reached 16th on the scoreboard, but it became one of the biggest chart successes of that year’s contest, particularly in Sweden where the exposure helped it to become one of the most popular radio hits of that summer.

About Those Points?

Over the three decades since Cyprus first debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest, they have become famous for one of the contest’s most celebrated quirks – namely their habit of mutually swapping points with their neighbours in Greece. Evi is quick to point out that the tradition was broken last year when Cyprus only threw a measly eight points to the Greek entry, giving ten points to eventual winners Sweden and twelve points to Italy.

However, she admits that she finds the voting pattern fairly natural. “We speak the same language, and as Cyprus does not have a music industry, Greek music is extremely popular in our country”. Indeed, many Eurovision musicians have moved between the two countries fairly smoothly. Anna Vissi has represented both countries, while past participants such as Maria Elena Kyriakou and Eleftheria Eleftheriou were born in Cyprus before moving to Greece to pursue their careers.

Failing to reach the Grand Final is always a hard blow for a delegation, many of whom spend many months in preparation for the Eurovision experience. Evi identifies 2007, the year fan-favourite Evridiki surprisingly failed to come through the Semi Finals as a particularly disappointing outcome.

Change Is Good

This year, like all countries, Cypriot delegates and viewers are charged with wrapping their heads around one of the most profound changes to the Eurovision voting sequence in the history of the contest. Some delegations – most notably San Marino – have complained that this rule change disproportionately impacts smaller broadcasters. However, Evi is broadly optimistic about the new system, seeing it as another step in the constant evolution of the Song Contest. “Eurovision has reached its sixty-first year. It would be a pity to let it grow old. I am always open to change, so let’s see how it works this year and take it from there”.

Of course, Cyprus is no San Marino, and the country has always been able to submit a valid televote in addition to their jury scores, meaning they are unlikely to be affected by the controversial decision to effectively fabricate fifty percent of the voting for countries that do not reach the voting threshold. That said, they do sit at the smaller end of the Eurovision broadcasters, and in 2014 budget problems forced the country to take a year out. Despite this, they were back a year later and Evi remains positive about Cyprus’ overall relationship with the Contest.

“For small countries like Cyprus it is extremely important to participate in major events like this” she explains. “It is a huge opportunity for local artists and a great feeling for the Cypriot people when we make it to the final. We would be delighted with the opportunity to host Eurovision on our beautiful island someday.”

“On a personal level, Eurovision is a big part of my job at CyBC, and of course it affects my life in many aspects. What is most important to me is all the people I have met through the years, from the artists to my fellow delegates, many of whom are still my friends to this day.”