In the spotlight: France – Barbara Pravi

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we go back to 2000, when the duo Voice represented Cyprus with the song “Nomiza”. Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest Cyprus debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 and has become a consistent finalist, yet is still chasing its first victory. The island’s benchmark result came in 2018. Eleni Foureira’s uptempo entry “Fuego” finished second with 436 points, the country’s best placing to date. Earlier, Cyprus had reached the top five with songs such as Anna Vissi’s “Mono i agapi” (1982), Hara and Andreas Constantinou’s “Mana mou” (1997) and Lisa Andreas’ “Stronger Every Minute” (2004).  In recent years Cyprus has relied on internal selections and close collaboration with international songwriters. In 2023, Australian‑Cypriot singer Andrew Lambrou took “Break a Broken Heart” to 12th place in the Liverpool final. Silia Kapsis followed in 2024 with the dance‑pop track “Liar”, qualifying from Malmö’s first semi‑final and finishing 15th overall. In 2025 Theo Evan performed “Shh” in Basel. He narrowly missed qualification in semi‑final one, placing 11th.  📷 Eleni Foureira, photo EBU/Andres Putting Diagonismós Tragoudioú Giourovízion 2000 The Cypriot national selection in 2000 was called Diagonismós Tragoudioú Giourovízion. The contest was held on 16 February. Eleven songs competed: Marina Solonos, “Eima akoma edo“, 148 pts, 3rd Annie, “Na m’agapas“, 131 pts, 5th Maria Amman, “Fones“, 87 pts, 10th Marilia Perikleous & Demetris Mouhtadouris, “Trikymia”, 93 pts, 9th Chrystanthos Chrystanthou, “An”, 78 pts, 11th Alexandros Panayi & Christina Argyri, “Nomiza“, 225 pts, 1st Lefki Stylianou, “Antio, loipon“, 94 pts, 8th Antonia Orthanou, “Sti gi eirini“, 100 pts, 7th Marian Georgiou & Kostas Kountos, “Paradeisos“, 145 pts, 4th Giorgos Gavriel, “Volt“, 122 pts, 6th Haroula Pirta, “Ki akoma s’agapo“, 184 pts, 2nd   Voice (Alexandros Panayi and Christina Argyri) Voice was the Cypriot vocal duo formed by Alexandros Panayi and Christina Argyri to represent Cyprus at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the ballad “Nomiza”. Alexandros Panayi Alexandros Panayi (born 1970 in Nicosia) is a Greek-Cypriot singer, composer, lyricist and vocal coach with a long-standing relationship with Eurovision. He first appeared for Cyprus as a soloist in 1995 with “Sti fotia”, returning five years later as half of Voice and co-writer of “Nomiza”. Trained at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he has since worked extensively as a vocal director, producer and backing vocalist for several Eurovision delegations, including Greece’s winning entry “My Number One” in 2005. He has since returned regularly as songwriter, vocal director and mentor for various national and Eurovision projects.  Christina Argyri Christina Argyri (born 1971 in Nicosia) is a singer and actress who studied piano and music theory in Cyprus before also attending Berklee, specialising in jazz performance. Active mainly in theatre, she composes and performs music for stage productions and collaborates with Cypriot ensembles. Beyond Voice, Argyri has appeared as a backing vocalist at Eurovision, notably supporting Cypriot boyband One in 2002, and is also active as a dubbing and voice artist. Nomiza “Nomiza” was the Cypriot entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. Written and composed by Panayi, the song is a dramatic pop ballad that shifts between Greek and Italian lyrics, telling the story of a love the narrator “thought” would last forever.  Musically, “Nomiza” builds from an intimate, slow‑to‑mid‑tempo opening into a bigger, more orchestral climax, showcasing the powerful harmonies between the two vocalists. Its bilingual structure gives it a distinctive Mediterranean flavour compared with other ballads in the 2000 line‑up. The song won the Cypriot national final and was later released as a CD single featuring Greek‑only and Italian versions, including the Italian title “Rosso Vivo”.  On stage in Stockholm, the performance focused on the singers’ interplay, with restrained staging and dark blue visuals reinforcing the emotional tone. In the final, “Nomiza” was performed 11th on the night and finished 21st out of 24 entries, scoring 8 points and relegating Cyprus from Eurovision 2001.