Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

A Song for Europe was the national final format developed by CyBC in order to select Cyprus' entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The competition commenced on 11 February 2006 and concluded with the final on 22 February 2006. The three shows took place at the CyBC Studio 3 in Nicosia and were hosted by Alex Michael and Christina Marouchou. The shows were broadcast on RIK 1, RIK Sat as well as online via the broadcaster's website cybc.cy. The show was also broadcast in Greece via the channel ERT Sat.[1]

The competition consisted of three shows: two semi-finals on 11 and 12 February 2006 and the final on 22 February 2006. Each semi-final included ten competing entries and the top five progressed to the final, which selected the winner from the remaining ten entries. Results during the semi-finals were determined exclusively by public televoting. In the final, the winner was determined by regional televoting. The voting results of each of the five regions in Cyprus were converted to points from 1-8, 10 and 12 and assigned to the ten competing entries. A sixth set of votes was also assigned to the entries based on the overall voting result.

Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 24 September 2005 and early December 2005. Artists and composers from any nationality were able to submit entries, however songs could not be submitted to other broadcasters participating in the 2006 contest. At the conclusion of the deadline, 114 entries were received by CyBC. Twenty entries were selected by a selection committee and announced on 4 January 2006.[2] On 11 and 12 January 2006, nine entries were disqualified as they have either been submitted to other broadcasters participating in the 2006 contest, or have been released before the broadcast of the semi-finals. They were replaced by an additional nine entries from the remaining submissions received.[3][4]

The first semi-final took place on 11 February 2006. Ten entries competed and public televoting selected the top five entries to progress to the final: "Love on the Weekend" performed by Andreas Konstatinidis, "I'm a Fighter" performed by Marina Solonos, "Just Your Smile" performed by Eleni Andreou, "Funky" performed by Nick Nikolaou & Vicky Anastassiou and "Why Angels Cry" performed by Annet Artani. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show featured guest performances by 1990 Spanish Eurovision entrants Azúcar Moreno and 1998, 2005 and 2009 Maltese Eurovision entrant Chiara.[5]

The second semi-final took place on 12 February 2006. Ten entries competed and public televoting selected the top five entries to progress to the final: "Play That Melody to Me" performed by Eleftheria feat. Maria Zorli, "Land of Yesterday" performed by Evagoras Evagorou & Chrisi Andreou, "Congratulations" performed by Marios Tofi, "Everytime I Close My Eyes" performed by Constantinos Andronikou and "After You" performed by Valanto Trifonos. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show featured guest performances by Maro Litra and 2000 British Eurovision entrant Nicki French.[5]

The final took place on 22 February 2006. The ten entries selected from the preceding two semi-finals competed and the winner, "Why Angels Cry" performed by Annet Artani, was selected by regional televoting.[6] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show featured guest performances by Stavros Konstantinou, 1984 and 1992 Irish Eurovision entrant Linda Martin and 2001 and 2006 Maltese Eurovision entrant Fabrizio Faniello.[5]