Culturally Greece and Cyprus share the same religion and language. And at Eurovision the two countries share an important historical tradition: Exchanging 12 points. So imagine the horror Greek representative Maria-Elena Kyriakou felt when Cyprus gave her just eight points. “It was terribly unfair,” she said on the chat show OLA BEEP in the aftermath of the 12 points fail. “I got really upset. I was having fun, but then the voting procedure began, and I was in shock.”

THE CYPRIOT JURY IS IN TROUBLE

Maria Elena points CyprusCypriot viewers ranked Maria-Elena first, which makes sense, as Maria-Elena actually comes from the island. But the jury placed the “One Last Breath” singer sixth, resulting in Greece getting only 8 points. The reactions on Twitter were immediate and hilarious, with some Greeks demanding that the Speaker of Parliament thoroughly investigate the incident. Watching Maria-Elena’s interview, I got the sense she wants to punch every member of the Cypriot jury in the face.

“I felt embarrassed after hearing the Cypriot vote,” she said. “I did not expect such a thing from Cyprus…I was disappointed. Both me and Efthivoulos Theocharous [the guy playing the piano] come from Cyprus. Only five people [the jury] decided this horrific result.”

Maria-Elena went on to say that she didn’t expect 10 or 12 points from other countries, but at least 1, 2 or 3. When that didn’t happen, it hurt. But only receiving 8 points from Cyprus — the country of her birth — really stung. She doesn’t accept that “One Last Breath” was a weak entry. Instead she believes that Austria’s ORF is to blame. “People did not watch us,” she said. “We were placed right after the commercial break.”

Greeks, myself included, are still a little angry. For now it’s unlikely any of us can imagine a 12-point swap next year. But, as time passes, and our heads cool, perhaps we’ll be able to forgive our friends in Nicosia and resume our traditions.

maria elena kyriakou athens greece cyprus collage

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Mark
Mark
8 years ago

This is hilarious

Racal
Racal
8 years ago

This is why we need the juries… So just because Maria-Elena and her pianist are from Cyprus, they think that they rightfully deserve the Cypriot 12 points? This is supposed to be a SONG contest! Maybe if she had given a good performance (which she obviously didn’t), maybe if she hadn’t behaved on stage like the diva she will never be, she would have received more points. She’s basically complaining that the bloc voting didn’t work the way they planned, and she should feel embarrassed about that. Shame on her!

mono mike
mono mike
8 years ago

this article is worse than oinktaims… she never blamed ORF. She mentioned that being after the break is not favourable according to some people. Some wiwi correspondent is looking for attention & clicks on his articles …

La Toya
La Toya
8 years ago

@Marinek but if you see, the difference is that the other contestants are not all sore losers. Do you see them complain? Maybe France, but the others are mostly fine & have moved on. She knows the rules of the competition, so why did she even join? If she doesn’t want to be disappointed, then she should have stayed out & hid in her bed & then not join the contest. Regardless if she is a divorcee or whatever, the fact remains that she is a sore loser. She does not deserve an ounce of sympathy for her loss. Whatever… Read more »

This is my opinion (TIMO)
This is my opinion (TIMO)
8 years ago

DRAMA QUEEN….stop making excuses your sad and miserable song didn’t win many people votes at least you got sympathetic applause from the audience for that sad old fashion song, don’t blame others as if your song was serious contemporary contender or something, no it was just simple old miserable ballad song and you are still crying lol lol lol

marinek
marinek
8 years ago

Maria Elena is not a horrible diva.She is a mother,she had difficult times with divorce and now she is chasing her dream.It was unfair for her to get 19th place.Bute the same for Spain or other countries.Unfortunately thats Eurovision.The voting system is to blame when 5 persons decide the exact place of a song and not only the favourite top ten.So EBU has to reconsider things.Its unfair for many countries.

girl
girl
8 years ago

Honey, you should of performed in 2007 if you’re a fan of the bloc votes.

Ranting Ruby
Ranting Ruby
8 years ago

Oh poor little darling. Guess what? Australia has NO FRIENDS in EUROPE and Guy Sebastian was born in MALAYSIA and he STILL GOT MORE POINTS THAN YOU! Get over it, princess …

Mario I Am Summer ~ My Summer Vision of Gay Love Summer Lovers
Mario I Am Summer ~ My Summer Vision of Gay Love Summer Lovers
8 years ago

She had all the right & the freedom to express her disappointment about her 19th place & her 23 points & the fact that she was voted from only 3 countries and not from 36 others.. If others that also had finished on low bad place they would complain about their result i would understand them & justify their stance as i do with Maria Eleni.. Maria Eleni is NOT a loser that whines because she has big idea for herself as how many of you wrongly believe this about her so its you that got this all wrong &… Read more »

Just Mario
Just Mario
8 years ago

Well Greece finished 6th with 81 points when FYR finished 16th last with just 29 points..
The juries even voted Greece 3rd with almost 100 points only behind Russia & Belgium! When FYR was voted almost last ahead of the horrible ”song” of Finland of course..
So yes…Really {NOT} injustice that FYR did not qualify & Greece did….
Enough with the cr@p please..

I liked more only Belarus song over our song and as i said that was true injustice that Uzari & Maimuna did not qualify…After all they finished 8th in juries..

Just Mario
Just Mario
8 years ago

@ Daniela And absolutely no…Just honestly your country’s song was NOT better than our song.. Although i did not really like much Maria Eleni’s song i truly believe that it was much better than Daniel’s.. And furthermore,Daniel’s live performance was bland & too weak as you said yourself too..Maria Eleni on the contrary delivered a really fine performance…And her voice is amazing to add.. It was no injustice at all that your country FYR did not qualify.. 4 me the only injustice on the 1st SF was that Belarus did not qualify unfortunately as both the song & the live… Read more »

Just Mario
Just Mario
8 years ago

@ Well Daniela or whatever your name is… If you just called me Mario i would knew that you referred to me & not to anyone else u smarty girl.. And obviously i really knew that our greek song finished on 12th place in your country FYR just because the greeks that live there voted 4 it… When did i actually think that it was your people slavs that voted us..?? I never claimed such thing but it was you that supposed that non true fact about my opinion.. I know ”dear” how it works & that in how many… Read more »

La Toya
La Toya
8 years ago

@JimM it certainly doesn’t look as how you stated. Based on the tone of the article & what little I’ve seen, she is a monstrous diva. Certainly that is what the author of the post has painted the situation to be. Unless you put here word for word the transcript of the interview for all to see. If not, the comments of the majority here about their disgust on her boorish behavior & attitude still stands

JimM
JimM
8 years ago

Why all this exaggeration? Maria Elena is a really humble and shy person and not the monsterous diva presented here. She never pointed fingers. She said she felt embarassed by the cypriot votes because she thought that the people of Cyprus didn’t like her. It’s like feeling that your own country’s people that voted for your going to esc don’t support you during the final. But see said that when she learned that juries votes altered the result of cypriots votes, she relaxed. She didn’t say anything bad about the juries or that she demanded 12 points from Cyprus. She… Read more »

ESCaddict
ESCaddict
8 years ago

Maria’s comments are disgraceful. If Greece demands 12 from Cyprus then Greece should get out of ESC. My opinion of “One Last Breathe” has dropped dramatically. Shame, shame, shame.

Blah
Blah
8 years ago

@Chris alright, thanks! No such thing here so I wasn’t even aware that could happen haha

BIONDA
BIONDA
8 years ago

I UNDERSTAND WHY SHE MIGHT BE UPSET.BECAUSE OTHER COUNTRIES EVERY YEAR EXCHANGING VOTES AND THEY CONTINUE SO…….CYPRUS AND GREECE ARE ONLY TWO AND HAPPENS THIS!BUT IN MY OPINION IT WAS WONDERFUL.NO MORE BLOCK VOTES.AND GREECE GAVE 12 POINTS TO ITALY,WELL DONE.YOU WERE SO GREAT WITH YOUR VOTES THIS YEAR.
IN MY OPINION THE MAIN PROBLEM IS THE FINAL SCORE AS GREECE WAS IN MY TOP 5 AND FOR SURE GREECE,SPAIN AND FRANCE DIDNT DESRVE THIS SCORE.IT WAS UNFAIR.BUT THATS LIFE.

Chris
Chris
8 years ago

@ Blah
Yes, the EBU allows televisions to show their own breaks – for instance commercials. It is not forbidden. For example – Austrian television showed during… Conchita’s performance (the Interval Act) some news or sth else. This rule refers to Green room and the Interval Act, as I remember.

Blah
Blah
8 years ago

Since when is there a commercial break in Eurovision? Have I missed something?…

Maltish
Maltish
8 years ago

@Daniela: Don’t be so hard on your country. Daniel was actually pretty good and I was surprised to find out that it finished last in televoting :-(. Hopefully you guys don’t leave Eurovision even though you’ve had very horrible results in recent years. Look at what Latvia and Isreal managed to achiev this year.

La Toya
La Toya
8 years ago

Well, it figures why she didn’t become a starlet when she was younger: she has an awful personality. She better enjoy her remaining minutes of fame as being a reality contest winner, it won’t last long. If I was from Cyprus & then no one from Cyprus voted for me, i will feel disappointed too, but I will not lash out on the juries or the contest. I will accept the results & move on. I won’t waste my energy sulking or being a harlot, I’ll instead put all my energies into improving my craft & be a better singer… Read more »

Julian
Julian
8 years ago

Her country is Cyprus. She went in Greece at age of 13 for musical studies but only resisted 2 years and then returned to Cyprus to finish her studies. She lived in Cyprus all her life, married there, has 3 children and already divorced in 2011. Her musical career started last year at age of 30 when she participated to Voice of Greece 2014 that she won. This is her only musical experience before winning Greece national final and participating to Eurovision. Now why she said why she said and why she got only 8 points from Cyprus? She was… Read more »

La Toya
La Toya
8 years ago

@Mario – as a human, yes she has the right to be disappointed. But the way she expressed it is very unlady-like & unsportman. She should have just cried & moved right along. Disparaging the juries & the integrity of the organizers/contest are what sore losers do, and she definitely shows how uncouth she is. True divas deal with disappointments in a dignified manner. As a sore loser, she deserves all the negativity thrown her way, and more negative karma will catch up with her sooner or later. I was a fan before but by showing her true colors, she… Read more »

Mendi
Mendi
8 years ago

Oh Gosh, were do I start: 1) Was awful in all sorts of way and if it would be in second semi wouldn’t even got to the final; 2) Dress was just disguisting. It looked like somebody already wore it and was more like robe than a dress; 3) All those hand movements in the performance by punching air, making fists looked really over the top and at some points even violent; 4) Lights were awful; 5) Since when Country should give 12 points to the singer because she was born there. Jury was placed so songs and performances who… Read more »

Max
Max
8 years ago

lol morally bankrupt just like her financially bankrupt country!

Bronson
Bronson
8 years ago

How stuck up is she? She complains she didn’t get 12 points from her neighbour, yet Ann Sophie who absolutely nothing is taking her defeat so well. What an arrogant woman.

Daniela
Daniela
8 years ago

@Maltish Every song that didn’t qualify from the first semi final, deserved it. Maybe i would have switched Greece for Moldova cause they’ve showed the max of the song and the performance itself. About us, we clearly had a better song than Greece in every aspect, but Daniel didn’t do what he Had to do ( to sing well) and the whole performance was just weak. Maybe the weakest of the semi-final along with The Netherlands, and the results showed it unfortunately. Hopefully he will learn not to listen to what the delegation is saying and suggesting ’cause it’s his… Read more »

Daniela
Daniela
8 years ago

@Mario~lovers of the sun~gay love or whatever your name is, let’s clear things up, im convinced nobody voted for greece from MACEDONIA my dear, i personally thought it was an outdated song with a singer wearing a sparkly dress which i guess won’t be worn again ( she could wear it on a wedding celebration or sth, in my opinion HAHA) AND THE THING I WANTED TO EXPLAIN TO YOU…WE DIDN’T VOTE, THE GREEKS WHO PASS THE BORDER LITERALLY EVERYDAY TO BUY THINGS AND STUFF ( cause the products here are quite cheap u know) AND HAVE MACEDONIAN NUMBERS VOTED.… Read more »

Kjetil
Kjetil
8 years ago

8 points are horrible? I’d be happy if my country (Germany) even got one point xD

Chris
Chris
8 years ago

@ Billy Xifaras
“(…) we’ll be able to forgive our friends in Nicosia and resume our traditions.”
Are you serious? Have you supported that unfair exchange of points?

The juries did finally their job! Greek song was ok, but very dated. It sounded in terms of style similar to Celine Dion’s music… in the early nineties.

wut
wut
8 years ago

is she seriously disappointed that she didn’t get a 12 from a neighbouring country? Damn you, girl. It’s a song contest, not “I was born in Cyprus” contest.

Maltish
Maltish
8 years ago

Lol. The thing is, is that Greek televoters had “One Thing I should have done” ( Cyprus 2015 ) in just third place and hence not following their usual patriotic rules too. I hated Greece this year. I wanted F.Y.R Macedonia to make it though instead. They had a much better song. Speaking about F.Y.R Macedonia. I love how people constantly look down on Azerbaijan and Armenia and how they constantly put each other last but look away when Greek televoters have Macedonia constantly last ^-^. Cheating ( or bias ) is everywhere in Eurovision not just in the Azerbaijan… Read more »

Mario I Am Summer ~ My Summer Vision of Gay Love Summer Lovers On The Sun
Mario I Am Summer ~ My Summer Vision of Gay Love Summer Lovers On The Sun
8 years ago

Imagine that….
When the booings of europeans will now stop during the voting of Greece-Cyprus & vice versa the greeks & the cypriots will be now the ones that will be booing with the 12 douze points holy sacred brotherhood tradition coming to its big end.. 😛
hehe.. of course im sarsastic here.. 🙂

I propose to sue these 2 jury members that voted Maria Eleni 12th & 15th.. 😛
Oh and the third jury person too that voted her 8th as that was low place too.. 😛

ADanillidou
ADanillidou
8 years ago

I’m Greek and i have just this to say: If you really believe that Greece and Cyprus should give each other 12 points every year, then you disgust me… It’s not supposed to be a ‘tradition’! You’re supposed to vote for your favourite song! And furthermore i don’t understand how both don’t get the boo-ing every year??? It means people HATE IT! I mean is it that much fun to hear the hate every time we give the Greek/Cypriotic votes? I for one am proud that, for once at least, we did not give each other 12 points and actually… Read more »

Fiona
Fiona
8 years ago

I mean to her comments 🙂 Whilst she has every right to feel disappointed that as a Cypriot she didn’t get 12 (or 10!) points from her homeland Cyprus as she sung for Greece – she should stand up and act like a mature adult – a woman – and move on. If the song wasn’t popular enough to get full points, and if the judges for the first time finally voted on quality and not politics, she must accept that. Time to grow up and accept defeat. Acting like a diva and throwing tantrums is unacceptable. In fact, as… Read more »

Fiona
Fiona
8 years ago

I saw a friend posted this : next to hear comments 🙂 The worst bit among all the arrogance and complaining is this bit: “Greeks, myself included (you are Cypriot dearest), are still a little angry (get over yourself). For now it’s unlikely any of us (who are ‘us’) can imagine a 12-point swap next year (and why should you? It’s not a right). But, as time passes, and our heads cool (we are quite calm actually, you’re the problem), perhaps we’ll be able to forgive our friends in Nicosia and resume our traditions (you have some nerve, forgive us… Read more »

davve
davve
8 years ago

Jury results should not be based on purely geographical positions. if they though one last breath was the best they would have placed her number 1.

this is typical greece-cyprus nationalism.

Ola
Ola
8 years ago

‘Investigate the incident’??? I find it disguisting that certain jurymembers are being pointed at, that they have to officially defend their own musical taste! The only result of this: Greece can from now on enter the stage and fart – and still get 12 points from Cyprus. No jurymember will dare placing Greece lower than no 1…
Damn you Maria-Elena – and Billy – and the rest of Greece for supporting bloc voting and politic voting! Grow up! And move on!

Hippo
Hippo
8 years ago

As a greek, i’d just like to say a few things. One reason why she and a lot of others here are shocked at just 8 points is that she won the voice of greece. Cypriots vote in huge numbers on such talent shows to ensure their act wins. Proportionally way more Cypriots win these shows than they should. So it is naturally surprising to not get the 12, even from juries who are usually just as patriotic and “loyal”. Secondly, she has a point with the running order. Maria Elena drew second half yet the producers give her 15th… Read more »

Mario I Am Summer ~ My Summer Vision of Gay Love Summer Lovers On The Sun
Mario I Am Summer ~ My Summer Vision of Gay Love Summer Lovers On The Sun
8 years ago

@ Oostenrijk Once our pride parade is over as you say i won’t really mind… If we deserve to possibly not qualify to the final next year having not good enough song & bland performance i will agree with our result…I will accept it even if we finish last on the SF with zero points…And i won’t believe that they hate us or they have something against us.. All good things come to an end…. Im grateful 4 our GreAtY success all these 14 years since 2001… Even if we fall we WILL rise again aiming to the top of… Read more »

Mario I Am Summer ~ My Summer Vision of Gay Love Summer Lovers On The Sun
Mario I Am Summer ~ My Summer Vision of Gay Love Summer Lovers On The Sun
8 years ago

@ *La Toya* { The real Michaels Jackson’s sister? 😛 } Well Maria Eleni did not expect to win or finish on rather high place in the top10.. But for her to get voted only by 3 countries & receiving 8 points from Cyprus when the cypriots televoters voted her as winner.. I think that she has the right to express her disatisfaction with her result.. Its another thing 4 her to wanted the victory or a high place & another thing to score so low place with just 23 points.. In other Vision someone with that amount of points… Read more »

Oostenrijk
Oostenrijk
8 years ago

I understand the Greek agony over the result very well. Only their three bff’s (#ALB, #ARM, #CYP) saved them from last place. They must have realized that Greek Eurovision Pride is over and their first semifinal failure already bound to take place. At least Germany and Austria did not exchange points at all, so they can happily embrace each other on last place. But one day it will Greece’s lonely joy I fear.

Oostenrijk
Oostenrijk
8 years ago

Actually I think that Greece had much better songs now in 2015 and 2014 than before. I hardly ever enjoyed any Greek entry at all, except for Yassou Maria in 2007. Rise Up and One Last Breath were really good songs, both in my personal Top 10. But Eurovision is a tougher competition now with all the quality songs from every country and the jurors.

Deniz
Deniz
8 years ago

Jesus, a lot of participants turn out to be real b*tches after the eurovision-season. I thought Maria-Elena would know a little bit better and didn’t complain for something so dumb and useless.

La Toya
La Toya
8 years ago

This pathetic wench deserves 0 points, from any country. Good to see the rest of Europe scored her very low. Her reaction shows what type of upbringing she has: that of a spoiled & sore loser. Good thing she didn’t win: karma for her bad attitude & hopefully more negative karma falls on her. Greece has sent wonderful songs in the past, NOT this year. Move right along & deal with it harlot!

Paule
Paule
8 years ago

It’s absolutely a shame for Greece to EXPECT that Cyprus has to give them 12 Points whatever they send. They have to come down a bit, there were such a load of absolutely crap songs that made it into the Top 10 just for being Greek (2007,2008,2009,2010,2013…) so I hope that, if they send such uninspiring songs like these in the next years they will finally get stuck in the Semis.

Milla
Milla
8 years ago

Vote for the best song and performance and not the country. This year Greece wasn’t even good for getting 8 points! LOL

denny
denny
8 years ago

Pff girl get over it.
If it was me she get 0 points

Mario
Mario
8 years ago

@ Oostenrijk
Hey amigo…If you want to get informed about this you will figure out yourself that these ex yugoslavians are NOT macedonians…
The only Macedonia & macedonians are in my country Greece..

I just do not want to call them with that name because it would be ridiculous..

With no offense but i want you to understand me..

Otna
Otna
8 years ago

@marie 10 points – 2 more than they got back 😛