Cyprus was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the song "Jalla", written by Antigoni Buxton, Charalambous Kallona, Connor Mullally-Knight, Demetris Nikolaou, Klejdi Lupa, Paris Kalpos and Trey Qua, and performed by Antigoni herself. The Cypriot participating broadcaster, Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), internally selected its entry for the contest.

Background

Prior to the 2026 contest, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Cyprus forty-one times since its debut in the . Its best result in the contest was second, achieved in with "" performed by Eleni Foureira. Before that, its best placing was fifth, achieved three times: in with the song "" performed by Anna Vissi, in with "" performed by Hara and Andreas Constantinou, and in with "Stronger Every Minute" performed by Lisa Andreas. Its least successful result was last place, achieved in with "" by Elpida, receiving only four points in total; however, its worst finish in terms of points received was when it placed second to last in with "" by Marlain Angelidou, receiving only two points. After returning to the contest in following a one-year absence due to the impact of the 2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis and the broadcaster's budget restrictions, it has failed to qualify on two occasions, including in , with "Shh" performed by Theo Evan.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, CyBC organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. It had used various methods to select its entry in the past, such as internal selections and televised national finals to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. Since , the broadcaster had opted to select the entry internally without input from the public.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection On 6 November 2025, CyBC announced that British-Cypriot singer Antigoni would represent Cyprus in Vienna. The selection of Antigoni as the Cypriot entrant consisted of two parts: the first involved the votes of a five-member jury panel from nine potential artists proposed by Greek record labels, and the second involved an online questionnaire posted via the broadcaster's website cybc.cy between 30 October and 6 November 2025, during which the public could express their opinion on the artists and its participation in general. Prior to the announcement, it was reported that among the other proposed artists were Evangelia, Giorgos Perris, , Josephine, Katerina Stikoudi, Mikay, Nina Mazani and Sophia Patsalides (who represented ).

The Cypriot contest song, "Jalla", was written by Antigoni together with Charalambous Kallona, Connor Mullally-Knight, Demetris Nikolaou, Klejdi Lupa, Paris Kalpos and Trey Qua, and was presented to the public on 8 February 2026 during the CyBC evening news broadcast. The official preview video for the song, directed by Bodega Visuals, was released on the same day via the broadcaster's website cybc.cy and the Eurovision Song Contest's official YouTube channel.

Promotion To promote "" before the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, Buxton performed as an interval act at Sing for Greece 2026, the Greek national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.

At Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 took place at the in Vienna, Austria, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final will progress to the final. On 12 January 2026, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country performed in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. Cyprus was scheduled for the second half of the second semi-final.

Voting

Points awarded to Cyprus

+ Points awarded to Cyprus (Semi-Final 2) Score Televote Jury 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

+ Points awarded to Cyprus (Final) Score Televote Jury 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Cyprus

+ Points awarded by Cyprus (Semi-final 2) Score Televote Jury 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

+ Points awarded by Cyprus (Final) Score Televote Jury 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Detailed voting results Each participating broadcaster assembles a seven-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent and two of which have to be between 18 and 25 years old. Each jury, and individual jury member, is required to meet a strict set of criteria regarding professional background, as well as diversity in gender and age. No member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

The following members comprised the Cypriot jury: Giorgis Christodoulou Iacovos Kedaritis Marinos Consolos Andria Zanti Elena Antonopoulou Ntora Makrigianni

+ Country Jury Televote Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Juror F Rank Points Rank Points 01 3 3 2 1 1 6 3 8 1 12 02 10 13 9 8 10 13 11 14 03 13 14 10 10 6 5 10 1 2 10 04 8 10 11 13 14 14 14 10 1 05 4 9 12 6 8 3 6 5 11 06 14 7 13 12 11 9 12 7 4 07 11 6 7 11 12 7 9 2 9 2 08 09 12 8 8 14 13 11 13 13 10 5 12 5 5 4 8 5 6 12 11 6 4 4 4 5 10 4 7 3 8 12 9 5 6 7 7 12 8 3 4 7 13 1 1 3 3 2 2 1 12 6 5 14 2 2 1 2 3 4 2 10 5 6 15 7 11 14 9 9 1 7 4 8 3 + Country Jury Televote Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Juror F Rank Points Rank Points 01 6 6 6 10 3 3 5 6 14 02 16 13 18 18 4 5 11 21 03 10 24 24 8 15 8 14 3 8 04 20 21 10 19 20 17 21 23 05 7 5 7 2 5 4 3 8 11 06 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 1 12 07 11 16 17 20 18 18 19 7 4 08 3 8 3 5 9 13 6 5 6 5 09 24 22 21 24 17 20 23 13 10 4 11 4 3 2 11 4 7 15 11 18 18 20 9 10 2 9 2 18 12 5 2 2 4 8 6 2 10 2 10 13 12 15 22 7 23 21 16 16 14 23 23 23 23 24 22 24 22 15 9 7 5 6 7 9 8 3 9 2 16 21 10 13 21 22 23 18 5 6 17 2 4 8 17 11 14 7 4 10 1 18 17 19 14 14 19 16 20 12 19 19 20 19 22 21 24 22 20 20 15 9 11 16 6 15 12 17 21 22 8 3 12 11 16 19 10 1 8 3 23 13 14 9 13 14 7 13 19 24 14 12 16 12 13 10 15 4 7 25 22 17 15 15 12 12 17 24

References