For the benefit of those who are not avid Eurovision fans, for years Athens and Nicosia made sure to give each other the maximum score in the Eurovision Song Contest, but this year nothing fell through and the Greek jury settled for only four points awarded to the Cypriot performance, which prevented Cyprus from entering the top ten and led to an outburst of emotions among many who declared the move nothing less than an act of treason.
As mentioned, in a kind of unwritten agreement, for years the two countries made sure to give each other the maximum doz foa, with the last time they broke tradition was in 2015, when Greece awarded Cyprus only 10 points and denied it entry into the top ten.
This year, as mentioned, the crisis was much worse, as Greece's Najas, it seems, began in the semi-finals, when the song "What They Say" performed by Victor Vernikos failed to qualify for the final and ranked 13th.
Greek representative for Eurovision 2023,
Greece chose to award their dos fois to Belgium, putting Cyprus four points away from the top ten, a decision that ultimately sealed Cyprus' fate.
For fans, it seemed nothing short of a declaration of war, with local Greek media seeing the low score as proof of the escalating alienation between Athens and Nicosia, with many even calling the dramatic move a real betrayal.
"For Greece, Cyprus is very far away," former Cypriot justice minister Emily Yulitis said in undisguised frustration as others angrily pointed out that members of the Greek commission should feel ashamed of the move. "We denied Cyprus the ten points it deserved," Greek singer Katie Garvey tweeted. "Keep up this nonsense and the Cypriots will take the halloumi cheeses back from us to Anna Vissy [a Greek Cypriot singer]. Cf.), others cynically wrote.
Cyprison representative for Eurovision 2023, photo: AP
"The four points given to Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest are not the problem," wrote former Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, "but the result, another example of the efforts of many within the establishment to distance Greek society from the island and the Cypriot issue," and was ridiculed for the alleged conspiratorial wording of his remarks.
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