Cyprus has successfully made it through Eurovision’s first semi-final, securing a spot in the song contest’s grand final.
Hosted in Lisbon, Portugal on Tuesday, Cyprus’ entry Eleni Foureira has also emerged as the bookmaker’s favourite to win with her song Fuego, trumping Israel from the top spot.
The catchy pop track composed by Greek-Swedish songwriter Alex Papaconstantinou, is performed in English, but the title is Spanish, with ‘fuego’ translated as ‘fire’ – which perfectly sums up Foureira’s performance.
It is the 31-year-old’s first time performing at the song contest. Residing in Athens, she has previously put her hand up to represent Greece, but has been unsuccessful in favour of other candidates.
Greece was one of the 19 countries to take part in Tuesday’s semi-final with Yianna Terzi performing Oneiro Mou (My Dream), but was unsuccessful.
Making it through the semi-final along with Cyprus are Albania – Foureira’s birth country, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Israel, and Lithuania.
Meanwhile an additional 18 countries are set to perform in the second round of semi-finals on Thursday, ahead of the grand final at Altice Arena on Saturday.
It is Cyprus’ 31st time participating in Eurovision after joining the song contest in 1981, but has yet to emerge as the winner, placed fifth three times.
Could the 63rd Eurovision Song Contest prove lucky for Cyprus?
Watch Foureira’s performance here:
Yianna Terzi representing Greece in the Eurovision semi-final: