Liverpool live: Sweaty sweaters, video games and red feathers

Every participant has it’s second rehearsal today. That means we already know a lot and we can just say whether there are (major) changes or not. Different from other years, no independent journalists or fan media can join the rehearsals. What you read is what Eurovision.tv wants us to know.

photo credits: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett/Corinne Cummings/Chloe Hashemi

Norway

The Norwegian act is the same as in the first rehearsal. According to the reporters of eurovision.tv she hit the high notes. Alessandra is currently 6th at the bookmakers, which means she might do well for Norway this year.

Malta

The Maltese act is one were a lot happens. And singer Dav jr. even wears two sweaters. He takes one off during the show. According to him that is quite…. sweaty. Dav already took part in the national final in 2020. However, he says it is now the right time to go to Eurovision. The day after he was eliminated from the X-Factor 2020, his father passed away, so that was not a good moment for Eurovision.
Unfortunately the bookmakers are not happy about Malta yet. Hopefully they are wrong this time!

Serbia

Sometimes it is difficult to know what will happen on tv when you are in the hall. That is why only now a lot of on-screen video game references came up in the reports. It fits in the act: somebody who just wants to sleep as there are so many bad things going on in the world. The song is written during the COVID19 lockdowns. Currently, Serbia is no. 17 in the betting odds.

Latvia

At least they have their outfits now, so it seems the luggage problem is solved. The band members are all wearing jackets and blouses with long, thin ties over it. Lead singer Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis wears a beige jacket, the others have darker cloths. Currently Latvia does not do well in the betting odds with a 35th place. However, we can not exclude a place in the final.

Portugal

Enthusiasm for the uptempo song Portugal brings on stage. There have not been many changes at all in the Portuguese entry. Mimicat still wears the feather dress that impressed in the first rehearsal. Portugal is currently 26th in the betting odds, which makes it likely that Mimicat will go through to the final.

Ireland

About Ireland, the same information is given by eurovision.tv as they did Monday: the members of Wild Youth are having fun on stage. Ireland is currently 24th at the betting odds. However, if you look at the qualifiers of semifinal one, they are 14th. A strange contradiction, and it makes the line on the official website quite cynical: “…and they look like they’re having the best time ever – the Irish delegation should be really happy”.

Croatia

Croatia’s Let 3 is having their second rehearsal, and their performance looks just as impressive on the big screen as it did in the hall, says eurovision.tv. However, the visual spectacle appears even more impressive and vibrant than before. The colors are now more intense and psychedelic, and the removal of clothing is now even more detailed and noticeable due to the high definition visuals. Judge for yourself if you should be happy with that. The betting ods give Croatia a 15th place.

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🇨🇾 Blast from the past: Cyprus 2000

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we go back to 2000, when the duo Voice represented Cyprus with the song “Nomiza”. Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest Cyprus debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 and has become a consistent finalist, yet is still chasing its first victory. The island’s benchmark result came in 2018. Eleni Foureira’s uptempo entry “Fuego” finished second with 436 points, the country’s best placing to date. Earlier, Cyprus had reached the top five with songs such as Anna Vissi’s “Mono i agapi” (1982), Hara and Andreas Constantinou’s “Mana mou” (1997) and Lisa Andreas’ “Stronger Every Minute” (2004).  In recent years Cyprus has relied on internal selections and close collaboration with international songwriters. In 2023, Australian‑Cypriot singer Andrew Lambrou took “Break a Broken Heart” to 12th place in the Liverpool final. Silia Kapsis followed in 2024 with the dance‑pop track “Liar”, qualifying from Malmö’s first semi‑final and finishing 15th overall. In 2025 Theo Evan performed “Shh” in Basel. He narrowly missed qualification in semi‑final one, placing 11th.  📷 Eleni Foureira, photo EBU/Andres Putting Diagonismós Tragoudioú Giourovízion 2000 The Cypriot national selection in 2000 was called Diagonismós Tragoudioú Giourovízion. The contest was held on 16 February. Eleven songs competed: Marina Solonos, “Eima akoma edo“, 148 pts, 3rd Annie, “Na m’agapas“, 131 pts, 5th Maria Amman, “Fones“, 87 pts, 10th Marilia Perikleous & Demetris Mouhtadouris, “Trikymia”, 93 pts, 9th Chrystanthos Chrystanthou, “An”, 78 pts, 11th Alexandros Panayi & Christina Argyri, “Nomiza“, 225 pts, 1st Lefki Stylianou, “Antio, loipon“, 94 pts, 8th Antonia Orthanou, “Sti gi eirini“, 100 pts, 7th Marian Georgiou & Kostas Kountos, “Paradeisos“, 145 pts, 4th Giorgos Gavriel, “Volt“, 122 pts, 6th Haroula Pirta, “Ki akoma s’agapo“, 184 pts, 2nd   Voice (Alexandros Panayi and Christina Argyri) Voice was the Cypriot vocal duo formed by Alexandros Panayi and Christina Argyri to represent Cyprus at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the ballad “Nomiza”. Alexandros Panayi Alexandros Panayi (born 1970 in Nicosia) is a Greek-Cypriot singer, composer, lyricist and vocal coach with a long-standing relationship with Eurovision. He first appeared for Cyprus as a soloist in 1995 with “Sti fotia”, returning five years later as half of Voice and co-writer of “Nomiza”. Trained at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he has since worked extensively as a vocal director, producer and backing vocalist for several Eurovision delegations, including Greece’s winning entry “My Number One” in 2005. He has since returned regularly as songwriter, vocal director and mentor for various national and Eurovision projects.  Christina Argyri Christina Argyri (born 1971 in Nicosia) is a singer and actress who studied piano and music theory in Cyprus before also attending Berklee, specialising in jazz performance. Active mainly in theatre, she composes and performs music for stage productions and collaborates with Cypriot ensembles. Beyond Voice, Argyri has appeared as a backing vocalist at Eurovision, notably supporting Cypriot boyband One in 2002, and is also active as a dubbing and voice artist. Nomiza “Nomiza” was the Cypriot entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. Written and composed by Panayi, the song is a dramatic pop ballad that shifts between Greek and Italian lyrics, telling the story of a love the narrator “thought” would last forever.  Musically, “Nomiza” builds from an intimate, slow‑to‑mid‑tempo opening into a bigger, more orchestral climax, showcasing the powerful harmonies between the two vocalists. Its bilingual structure gives it a distinctive Mediterranean flavour compared with other ballads in the 2000 line‑up. The song won the Cypriot national final and was later released as a CD single featuring Greek‑only and Italian versions, including the Italian title “Rosso Vivo”.  On stage in Stockholm, the performance focused on the singers’ interplay, with restrained staging and dark blue visuals reinforcing the emotional tone. In the final, “Nomiza” was performed 11th on the night and finished 21st out of 24 entries, scoring 8 points and relegating Cyprus from Eurovision 2001.  

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Blast from the past
Martijn

🇨🇾 Blast from the past: Cyprus 2000

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we go back to 2000, when the duo Voice represented Cyprus with the song “Nomiza”. Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest Cyprus debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 and has become a consistent finalist, yet is still chasing its first victory. The island’s benchmark result came in 2018. Eleni Foureira’s uptempo entry “Fuego” finished second with 436 points, the country’s best placing to date. Earlier, Cyprus had reached the top five with songs such as Anna Vissi’s “Mono i agapi” (1982), Hara and Andreas Constantinou’s “Mana mou” (1997) and Lisa Andreas’ “Stronger Every Minute” (2004).  In recent years Cyprus has relied on internal selections and close collaboration with international songwriters. In 2023, Australian‑Cypriot singer Andrew Lambrou took “Break a Broken Heart” to 12th place in the Liverpool final. Silia Kapsis followed in 2024 with the dance‑pop track “Liar”, qualifying from Malmö’s first semi‑final and finishing 15th overall. In 2025 Theo Evan performed “Shh” in Basel. He narrowly missed qualification in semi‑final one, placing 11th.  📷 Eleni Foureira, photo EBU/Andres Putting Diagonismós Tragoudioú Giourovízion 2000 The Cypriot national selection in 2000 was called Diagonismós Tragoudioú Giourovízion. The contest was held on 16 February. Eleven songs competed: Marina Solonos, “Eima akoma edo“, 148 pts, 3rd Annie, “Na m’agapas“, 131 pts, 5th Maria Amman, “Fones“, 87 pts, 10th Marilia Perikleous & Demetris Mouhtadouris, “Trikymia”, 93 pts, 9th Chrystanthos Chrystanthou, “An”, 78 pts, 11th Alexandros Panayi & Christina Argyri, “Nomiza“, 225 pts, 1st Lefki Stylianou, “Antio, loipon“, 94 pts, 8th Antonia Orthanou, “Sti gi eirini“, 100 pts, 7th Marian Georgiou & Kostas Kountos, “Paradeisos“, 145 pts, 4th Giorgos Gavriel, “Volt“, 122 pts, 6th Haroula Pirta, “Ki akoma s’agapo“, 184 pts, 2nd   Voice (Alexandros Panayi and Christina Argyri) Voice was the Cypriot vocal duo formed by Alexandros Panayi and Christina Argyri to represent Cyprus at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the ballad “Nomiza”. Alexandros Panayi Alexandros Panayi (born 1970 in Nicosia) is a Greek-Cypriot singer, composer, lyricist and vocal coach with a long-standing relationship with Eurovision. He first appeared for Cyprus as a soloist in 1995 with “Sti fotia”, returning five years later as half of Voice and co-writer of “Nomiza”. Trained at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he has since worked extensively as a vocal director, producer and backing vocalist for several Eurovision delegations, including Greece’s winning entry “My Number One” in 2005. He has since returned regularly as songwriter, vocal director and mentor for various national and Eurovision projects.  Christina Argyri Christina Argyri (born 1971 in Nicosia) is a singer and actress who studied piano and music theory in Cyprus before also attending Berklee, specialising in jazz performance. Active mainly in theatre, she composes and performs music for stage productions and collaborates with Cypriot ensembles. Beyond Voice, Argyri has appeared as a backing vocalist at Eurovision, notably supporting Cypriot boyband One in 2002, and is also active as a dubbing and voice artist. Nomiza “Nomiza” was the Cypriot entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. Written and composed by Panayi, the song is a dramatic pop ballad that shifts between Greek and Italian lyrics, telling the story of a love the narrator “thought” would last forever.  Musically, “Nomiza” builds from an intimate, slow‑to‑mid‑tempo opening into a bigger, more orchestral climax, showcasing the powerful harmonies between the two vocalists. Its bilingual structure gives it a distinctive Mediterranean flavour compared with other ballads in the 2000 line‑up. The song won the Cypriot national final and was later released as a CD single featuring Greek‑only and Italian versions, including the Italian title “Rosso Vivo”.  On stage in Stockholm, the performance focused on the singers’ interplay, with restrained staging and dark blue visuals reinforcing the emotional tone. In the final, “Nomiza” was performed 11th on the night and finished 21st out of 24 entries, scoring 8 points and relegating Cyprus from Eurovision 2001.  

Read More »
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