ERT have filed a complaint with the EBU over Cyprus' selection process for Eurovision 2024.
Cypriot newspaper Politis have reported that the Greek broadcaster has filed a complaint to the EBU over Cyprus’ plans to select their Eurovision 2024 entry via Fame Story, a televised singing competition that is organised in Greece by Greek television channel Star Greece.
This means that Cypriot broadcaster RIK will be co-operating with a non-Cypriot broadcaster to find it’s Eurovision 2024 representative, the first time this will happen in Cyprus’ Eurovision history.
ERT takes issue with the fact that Cyprus’ selection process for Eurovision 2024 will be organised in Greece and not Cyprus, something which the broadcaster believes is against the Eurovision rules.
Politis are reporting that the EBU have sent a letter to the Cypriot broadcaster, asking for an explanation; however, no final decision has been made by the EBU yet on whether RIK have broken the rules or not.
If however, the EBU does take on ERT’s complaints over Cyprus’ Eurovision 2024 selection process, RIK could be at risk of being banned from Eurovision, as Politis reports, unless they change their selection method.
The last time we saw broadcasters from two different countries working together on Eurovision was in 2004, when Andorran broadcaster RTVA co-operated with TV3 in Catalonia, Spain, to help with Andorra’s Eurovision debut. In 2018, we also saw San Marino chosing their Eurovision representative through talent show 1in360, with the final being broadcast live from Bratislava, Slovakia.
This year, both Cyprus and Greece selected their Eurovision representatives internally. Cypriot-Australian Andrew Lambrou and his song “Break A Broken Heart” achieved Cyprus’ first left side finish since 2018, as he finished 12th in the final. He previously finished in 7th place in Australia Decides 2022 with “Electrify”.
16 year old Greek-Danish singer-songwriter Victor Vernicos performed his self-penned track “What They Say” in semi final 2 of Eurovision 2023 for Greece. Finishing in 13th place with 14 points, Greece ultimately missed out on a place in the final.
What are your thoughts on ERT’s complains to the EBU over Cyprus’ selection process for Eurovision 2023? Let us know your thoughts on this debacle in the comments below!
