Being at opposite ends of Europe, you’d think Cyprus and Finland wouldn’t have much to do with each other – and it seems that they really don’t!

Since both countries started taking part at Eurovision, Finland and Cyprus have only appeared in the final together 17 times – out of a possible 37 contests! This means that in over 6 decades of Eurovision, only 10.54% of shows have seen both Cyprus and Finland singing in the final on the same night.

In the 1990s, Cyprus regularly found itself in the lower Top 10 or just outside it, while Finland was frequently relegated from taking part. Although this made it look like Cyprus was heading for a victory, Finland stormed into 1st place in 2006 with ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’, while Cyprus has never scored higher than 5th place. And since the introduction of the semi finals in 2004, they’ve NEVER managed to both make it to the final. Don’t believe it? Look back and see for yourself! The last time Finland and Cyprus both appeared at a Eurovision final was in 2002 – 16 years ago!!!

While it’s fascinating that these two countries both compete in the final together so rarely, it’s also worth noting that their success rates of qualifying are also tantalizingly close. As of 2017, Cyprus has missed out on 6 finals to Finland’s 7 – it really does seem that one qualifies at the expense of the other!

This all begs one question…  if there can only be Finland OR Cyprus in the grand final of Eurovision 2018, who will it be?! Will it be Eleni Foureira, continuing Cyprus’ run of 100% qualification since returning in 2015? Or will it be Saara Aalto levelling the playing field and making sure Finland’s qualification record equals that of Cyprus?

Are you Team Saara?

Or are you Team Eleni?

Have your say and VOTE in our poll below! We’ve included the option that both countries will qualify and it’s fine if you think that – but it would seem the odds are against such a thing! 😉

Author: James Scanlan

Source: Eurovision Ireland, YouTube

Image Source: Eurovision Ireland