The die is cast! After a couple of weeks with the rumour mill being in overdrive, the Cypriot national broadcaster CyBC has now officially confirmed their 2018 Eurovision entrant! It will be the successful singer Eleni Foureira, who will defend the country’s colours at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon.

Eleni Foureira has been internally selected by CyBC to sing an entry composed by the famous Swedish-Greek composer and music producer Alex Papakonstantinou, entitled Fuego. Alex’s good experience in the contest is beyond any doubt, as he has been involved in 3 former Eurovision entries (Greece 2007, Azerbaijan 2009, Cyprus 2012). Fuego is expected to be officially released by early March.

“I will do my best!”

Right after the official announcement in the morning, the broadcaster released a short video-tribute to their 2018 Eurovision hopeful, along with her first reactions about her upcoming performance in the Portuguese capital.

A dream is now coming true for her, as she has been desirous of performing on the Eurovision stage for several years now. In the video, Eleni makes the following statements:

I would like to say a big thank you to CyBC and all the Cypriot people, for giving me this opportunity. It is a great honour for me to represent this wonderful country which has supported me that much for all of these years.

My Eurovision song is called Fuego. It is written in English, only its title is Spanish. I am very glad that Alex has composed such a great song. This has actually been the reason for my positive answer to this Eurovision invitation. My promise is that I will do my best.

Here you may watch the broadcaster’s video, posted on Facebook earlier today:

When asked about Sacha Jean-Baptiste, the world-famous artistic director and choreographer with whom she is going to join forces at Eurovision, she answered:

She is indeed a highly acclaimed choreographer who has proven her worth. I am very happy and am looking forward to working with her.

CyBC has also confirmed that their spokesperson at the Grand Final on 12 May will be the 2017 Eurovision entrant, Hovig. As shown by the semi-final allocation draw, Cyprus is going to perform in the 2nd half of the 1st semi-final evening on 8 May.

The 63rd Eurovision Song Contest will be taking place on 8, 10 and 12 May at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal.