in
Baku, AzerbaijanAccording to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The
European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2012, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Cyprus was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 22 May 2012, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 20 March 2012 and Cyprus was set to perform in position 12, following the entry from and before the entry from . The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Cyprus on
RIK 1,
RIK SAT,
RIK HD and
RIK Triton with commentary by Melina Karageorgiou. The Cypriot spokesperson, who announced the Cypriot votes during the final, was Loukas Hamatsos.
Semi-final Ivi Adamou took part in technical rehearsals on 14 and 17 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 21 and 22 May. This included the jury show on 21 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. The Cypriot performance featured Ivi Adamou wearing a silver top, designed by Cypriot fashion designer Fani Xenofontos, joined by four backing dancers wearing short beige dresses with two of them also performing backing vocals. Adamou started the song by standing on a table constructed of antique books, and was later carried head high by the backing performers with a wind machine being used towards the conclusion of the song. The LED screens displayed classical Greek porcelain patterns. The artistic director of the performance was Apollon Papatheoharis, while the choreographer was Challi Jennings. At the end of the show, Cyprus was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Cyprus placed seventh in the semi-final, receiving a total of 91 points.
Final Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine the running order for the final. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Cyprus was drawn to perform in position 8, following the entry from and before the entry from . Ivi Adamou once again took part in dress rehearsals on 25 and 26 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Ivi Adamou performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 26 May. Cyprus placed sixteenth in the final, scoring 65 points.
Voting Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Cyprus had placed fifteenth with the public televote and twentieth with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Cyprus scored 63 points, while with the jury vote, Cyprus scored 85 points. In the first semi-final, Cyprus placed sixth with the public televote with 99 points and fourth with the jury vote, scoring 90 points. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Cyprus and awarded by Cyprus in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Greece in the semi-final and the final of the contest.
Points awarded to Cyprus Points awarded by Cyprus == References ==