Cyprus will be participating in this years Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
The Cypriot broadcaster has confirmed that they will be returning to Junior Eurovision this year, and also that 11 year old Maria Pissarides will be their representative. The production company Chandal Entertainment Ltd put Maria forward to CyBC to become Cyprus’ Junior Eurovision 2024 representative.
The song that Maria will sing at this years contest has been written and composed by Sofia Patsalides, who represented Cyprus at Junior Eurovision 2014 with “I pio omorfi mera”. She has collaborated with Swedish producer and composer Armin Gilani. Maria’s stage performance will be directed by acclaimed British artistic director Layla Ellison.
Maria will be joined by dancers on stage with her in Madrid, and the broadcaster has currently opened the submissions window for all interested dancers, with the auditions taking place between September 2nd and 5th.
The dancers must be between the ages of 9 and 14 on November 16th, and in addition to accompanying Maria on the Junior Eurovision stage, they will also help in supporting and promoting the Cypriot entry through several appearances in the lead up to Junior Eurovision 2024. All interested dancers can apply here until 12:00pm EEST on Friday 30th August.
Cyprus was one of the first 16 countries to take part in Junior Eurovision back in 2003, and participated (almost) every year since 2009. In 2005, Rena Kiriakidi won the Cypriot national final with “Τσίρκο” (Circus), but never made it to Junior Eurovision in Belgium as there were claims of plagarism with her song. However, due to the lateness of their withdrawal, they still broadcast the show live, and were still able to vote.
Between 2010 and 2013, the country took a break from the contest, due to unspecified reasons. They returned in 2014, withdrew in 2015 due to financial reasons, return again in 2016 and 2017, then withdrew again from 2019 to 2023. Their best results came in 2004 and 2006, when they finished in 8th place with 61 points and 58 points respectively.
Junior Eurovision 2024 will be coming to Spain for the first time, with Caja Mágica in Madrid playing host on Saturday 16th November. To date, 16 countries have confirmed their participation in this years contest: Albania, Armenia, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malta, North Macedonia Poland, Portugal, Spain and Ukraine.
Are you excited to see Cyprus back in Junior Eurovision? What kind of song do you think Maria will be singing at the contest? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
