ANNET Artani was said to be distraught after failing to make it to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens tonight.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Evi Papamichael, who will be commentating on the event for CyBC said: “Obviously, she is extremely disappointed as we all thought it was a good performance and her voice was excellent. Bit if I was to sum up Eurovision in one word, it would be ‘unpredictable’.”
Looking stunning in a yellow dress, Artani performed ‘Why Angels Cry’, composed and written by Petros Yiannakis.
When asked whether countries from the former eastern bloc had possibly colluded together at the expense of the others, Papamichael was sceptical.
“I don’t think so,” she said.
“In my 14 years experience with the Eurovision, I would say that countries vote for one another due to common tastes in familiar music and the same mentalities.”
She said that viewing figures wouldn’t be affected, despite Cyprus not being represented. “Eurovision is an extremely popular event and the fact that Anna Vissi is representing Greece makes it extremely interesting to the Cypriot viewer as she’s very popular and the public will be cheering her on.”
Cyprus was this year celebrating its 25th entry in the famous competition and is still eligible to vote in the final.
“We are fighters and hope top be back next year,” said Papamichael.
The delegation will stay in the Greek capital until Sunday.
Amid a cluster of ancient Gods, Spartan warriors and mythical creatures, musicians from 23 countries battled it out for a place in tonight’s main contest.
Competing for ten places, Russia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Sweden, Turkey and Armenia made the cut after a public text and telephone vote.
Ranging from pop to ethnic to rock, the winning acts for the semi-finals included a wide assortment of genres.
Among the more unusual and surprising bands to advance to the final were controversial Finnish heavy metal outfit Lordi, whose act features gruesome masks, armour and flame jets.
Other unexpected winners included Lithuania’s Lt United with, ‘We are the Winners’, as well as Turkey and Armenia, the latter competing for the first time.
Hosts Greece, nine top-scoring nations from last year’s contest, and four major countries have automatic berths in the final: Switzerland, Moldova, Israel, Latvia, Norway, Spain, Malta, Germany, Denmark, Romania, United Kingdom, France, Croatia and Greece.
France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom qualify automatically as the four most populous countries in the event.
Eager to entertain more than 10,000 fans in the Olympic Basketball Stadium, dancers dressed-up as Zeus and Aphrodite, took to the stage singing past Eurovision hits ‘Volare’ and ‘Diva’.
The show’s choreographer, Fokas Evagelinos, said he wanted to inject a dose of humour while also showcasing Greek culture.
Athens won the right to host the event after Helena Paparizou triumphed last year in Kiev with her song My Number One.
Anna Vissi will be battling it out to score another win for Greece with Everything, a ballsy, heartfelt rock ballad about the break-up of a relationship.
Despite being described as a showcase of kitsch, Eurovision is one of the most-watched television programmes in the world, with up to 300 million viewers every year. The competition has served as a springboard for international stars such as ABBA, Cliff Richard and Celine Dion.
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