Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
May 20 2006

Artani shock at Eurovision exclusion
By Leo Leonidou

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.