CyBC have confirmed to esctoday.com that they have received more than 60 entries for the Cypriot national final which will decide the country's representative for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. The number is double that reported elsewhere, and based on previous analysis, could double again as more entries are expected to arrive by post in the following days.
Contrary to rumours published in some local papers, CyBC has confirmed to esctoday.com that the broadcaster has aleady received over 60 entries so far and they are expecting the number to rise as there is a last batch to be delivered by Cypriot post. Back in 2003, CyBC had received a total of 53 songs, a number which rose to 114 in 2006 when the contest was open to international composers as well.
As this year's rules dictated that the entries submitted should be "by Cypriot only or of Cypriot origin composers and songwriters" it is naturally expected that the number will be slightly lower.The deadline is according to the postal mark, so as long as the sumbissions were posted by 15th November, the entries are valid. Entries posted from overseas may take up to one week to arrive.
Next week will see the first phase of the Cypriot preselection take place. A special panel willl decide the ten songs that will compete in this year's final. As exclusively reported back in September, Cyprus' Eurovision Song Contest entry will be chosen through a national final in 2008. That final will take place on January 12th.
Stay tuned to esctoday.com for more information on the Cypriot preselection.
