National Brand of Cyprus

Nation branding is when a country uses the media to portray an image of themselves. In the context of Eurovision, countries nation brand themselves by their performances. For example, the more ‘vacation’ states including but not limited to Greece, Australia, Spain, Italy and Cyprus, they normally use bright and warm colors to portray a touristy and exciting place to visit. Cyprus is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean. They have been participating in Eurovision for around 35 years. This blog post will explore to what extent Cyprus’s national brand has been portrayed through the performances I analyzed in my blog post 2, and how it aligns with Cyprus’s national identity, which I also talked about in blog post 1. From this, I will discuss the social, political and cultural aspects that Cyprus used in their performances to convey their national brand. Then I will conclude with what alignments and misalignments I uncovered in my findings. 

The three performances I looked at of Cyprus were through the years 2010 to 2012. They overall were very different in terms of lighting, staging, dancing and props. The only similarity between the songs were that they were about a type of love. The performances of 2011 and 2012 were the most similar because they had a more upbeat song, with brighter colors and loud music. These two songs also can be linked to the myth history of the country Cyprus. The two singers, Christos Mylordos (2011) and Ivi Adamou (2012) are both Greek-Cypriots. In Mylordos performance, he sang the song “San Aggelos S’Agapisa” in the native language of Cyprus, Greek. Also in this performance, their are these lollipop figures swaying behind the singers, and as they sway the performers are swaying along with them. Towards the chorus of the song, the camera flashes towards this woman who is yelling and swinging around a white sphere on a piece of rope. Since the rope and ball are similar to the figures swaying in the back, it could be inferred that she is controlling that, which in turn means she is controlling the men singing. this could resemble a character greek mythology named Lachesis, who is one of the three fates. This connects to the myth history of Cyprus, which they cultivated from Greece. In the 2012 song “La La Love” performed by Adamou, their are numerous objects floating in the background such as seashells and butterflies. Their is a famous painting called the “Birth of Venus” painted by Sandro Botticelli, which portrays the Roman goddess Venus— who is Aphrodite in Greek mythology— grown up, standing in a seashell. This performance could be connected to this because Cyprus is known to be the birth place of Aphrodite. Once again, bringing the myth history of Cyprus in play of the performances. The first performance in 2010 “Life Looks Better in Spring”  sung by Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders does not depict any myth history. This could be because the performers are not form Cyprus, they come from the United Kingdom. Therefore, they do not share the same culture as Greek-Cypriots, which is a misalignment. This could connect to the idea that Cyprus is a diverse country, which could appeal to tourists. This helps their national brand by portraying a diverse and exciting place to visit and vacation at. 

In my first blog post, I explored Cyprus’s national identity. National identity is the political and cultural aspects of the country, which define it. Cyprus is broke up into two parts The Republic of Cyprus, which the majority of people living here are Greek-Cypriot, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which is made up of Turkish-Cypriots. These two areas differ in religion, politics, language and culture. While the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus calls themselves their own country, they are only formally recognized by Turkey, the European Union and no other countries recognize them as their own country. Therefore, they are not particularly part of the national identity of Cyprus. In my first blog post, I did group them together in their national identity, but my knowledge of this has shifted and I will discontinue putting Northern Cyprus in to the national identity of Cyprus as a whole, and just focus on the Republic of Cyprus. The main religion in Cyprus is Christian Orthodox, and in the second performance by Christos Mylordos, the song he sings brings up religion in it. Saying that he loves someone “like an angel”. The connection is between angels being a heavenly and pure being in the christian religious world. Cyprus has not really relayed any of their politics in their performances, or at least in none of the ones I analyzed. However, they have displayed a sense of diversity within their performances, with Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders being British, but still able to represent Cyprus to the continent of Europe. Especially with the connections of myth history in their performances, they are able to represent the culture of the country. One way that one of the performances may not align with the national identity is in the second song when the singer, Mylordos, sings about his lover, he does not specify what gender they are. He never uses the pronouns he or she in the song, therefore it could be any gender. This misaligns with the politics because Cyprus does not recognize same-sex marriage. They only recognize a marriage between a man and a woman. This also strays away from the religious beliefs of Christian Orthodox because they do not believe in same-sex marriage as well. This is more appealing in a modern-day society because same-sex marriage is now more openly accepted. 

While Cyprus has mainly stayed true to their cultural and social factors displayed in their performances, their have been a few misalignments. One misalignment is when they allowed Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders to perform in Eurovision in 2010, even though they were not related to the country. This misaligns because Eurovision is a broadcasting media outlet that allows countries to share their culture and represent themselves to all of Europe. Letting somebody who does not come from the home country, portray themselves as a symbol for the country that year is not very correct. It does not allow for an accurate representation of the country, but it does convey the diversity the country has and is willing to show. Another misalignment is that they don’t project their political beliefs on stage. No where in any of their performances does it suggest that they are a presidential democracy. However, with knowing that information, their is another misalignment in one of their songs. In Mylordos performance of 2011, he sings a love song, but does not direct it towards a specific gender. While this could be coincidence, he could possibly be portraying a small political stance on same-sex marriage. Since same-sex marriage is not acknowledged in Cypriot politics, he could basically and secretly be saying that it should be. Overall though, the national brand of Cyprus has been portrayed to the public in a good extent. Cyprus has managed to allow their religious and culture be known to the rest of Europe. However not their politics. The one big historical event that they could make known to Europe is their crisis which took place form 1955 until 1964. This crisis was the conflict between Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots. While Cyprus does not allow the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to participate in Eurovision, I believe that this should still be taught to Europe because before I studied Cyprus, I had no idea who they were, and especially that they had a revolt. This however could unfold heavy tensions between Cyprus, Greek and Turkey, but I think it should still be taught to those who have never really heard of Cyprus or their history before. Additionally, since it is a historical even rather something political, it should be alright to perform on Eurovision. Overall, Cyprus brands themselves as a country that is diverse, religious, but still has people that are in sync with modern societal beliefs. They also portray themselves as a country that is a touristy spot. However they may still expand their national brand, because they really just haven’t shown Europe all their aspects just yet. 

References:

Adamou I, (2012). La La Love (Cyprus) . Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Baku. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex133UhxB64

Mylordos C, (2011). San Aggelos S’Agapsia (Cyprus). Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Düsseldorf. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxkBW0ey5BU

Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders. (2010). Life Looks Better in Spring (Cyprus). Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Oslo. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGNtoR2hom4

Performances of Cyprus: 2010-2012

          Welcome back fellow Eurovision watchers! This blog post will explore the different visual and lyrical and literary devices the country Cyprus had used in their performances through the consecutive years of 2010 to 2012 in their participation of Eurovision. In these performances, each country participating has three minutes to represent their country to all of Europe. They do this using different devices and such. An example of these different devices this blog post will be examining will include but are not limited to performers background, lighting, staging, props, costumes, etc… 

          In the 2010 performance of Cyprus, the song “Life Looks Better in Spring” was sung by Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders. Jon Lilygreen is a 22 year old male who is actually from Wales in the United Kingdom. Lilygreen dabbles in contemporary type music. The band he plays with—The Islanders—are a group that perform along with singers all over Europe in places such as Wales, Scotland and Cyprus, just to name a few. Jon Lilygreen & the Islanders, the performers, go for a fairly simple performance. While singing their verses, the stage lighting is all blue with a main spotlight on Lilygreen himself. When the chorus commences, the lighting changes to a warmer orange light. Lilygreen is wearing a bright white t-shirt making him the center of attention while the band and background singers are all wearing black. His white t-shirt also appears a sort of a glow on him, giving a dream-like scenery to the performance. He is also playing the guitar during the performance, which as the audience knows he is not actually playing it for real, making it a prop. Overall this performance was very laid back and serene. The lyrics of the song explain two people who were once in love, but have now broken up. During the verses when the artist is singing, the lights are cold and dark which is reflects the lines “That old December, the fears, the cold,” which brings the audience to believe it is the winter time. Winter symbolizes coldness and darkness. By the time the chorus comes around and the lighting changes to a warmer tone, the artist sings “We know it's over, so tell me it's over and life will be better in spring”. Spring symbolizes rebirth. When Lilygreen & The Islanders sing this, they are telling a story of how their love had died down between the two lovers in the winter time, however in the spring time they could possibly have another shot at love or life. This song is very different from the previous performances of Cyprus. It is also one of the few performances that is very simple. The simplicity is what differentiates this performance from the next two performances. 

          In 2011, Cyprus went a more traditional route. The song they chose was “San Aggelos S’Agapisa” sung by Christos Mylordos which means “Like An Angel I Loved You” in English. This song and overall performance was more traditional because it was sung in Greek, which is the official language of Cyprus, and the artist was born in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. The song starts out with the camera focusing on a lady some feet in front of the artist wearing all black. As the music begins, the camera moves in front of the artist and fans from a flute player, to the singers. The stage is foggy and has a constant color of yellow. In the background on the screens, there are these blue prismatic shaped that are constantly moving along with these lollipop-snapped figures that continue to sway. While singing, the performers also successfully attempt to sway along to the music with their feet keeping in place. This is reminiscent of Michael Jackson's anti-gravity lean in Smooth Criminal (1988). Anyways, about halfway through the song, after the artist sings a verse, the camera flashes back to the woman from the beginning and she is swinging this white ball on a piece of rope, and singing these Greek orthodox-sounding hymns. Then the camera changes angles to this dancer who moving in tune with the hymns. The meaning of the song is someone who loves their significant other very dearly, despite the pain they put them in. The song is in a first person point of view, and the artist sings how his loved one “crossed [him] and you make [him] bleed,” but still the wrist “would have died for” them. He forgives his loved one for the wrong doings she/he put him through, and wants their love back. This performance and the previous one are very different in many aspects. The only similarity between them, could be the simplicity of the setting and how they both do not use many props, and how they are both a type of love song as is the next performance.

           The next performance Cyprus performed was its most popular performance in Eurovision. In 2012, Cyprus chose the artist Ivi Adamou, and she sang a song called “La La Love”. This song is one of the only true pop-style songs Cyprus has ever performed in Eurovison. Adamou is from Paralimni, Cyprus but now resides in Greece. The colors in this performance mainly are blue, light pink, and a black that outlines the designs on the screens in the background. The singer and her background vocalists are all wearing pink-beige dresses and skirts. The only prop the artist has on stage is this small stone wall, that she starts out the song on top of, but then her background dancers/vocalists lift her down off of it. Towards the end of the performance, she is then lifted back onto the stone wall. The lighting is pretty flashy, especially compared to the other two performances. This performance also has the most choreography of the other two. The artist even has a dance break in between the second to last chorus and last verse where the lights go dark for around 10 seconds. This song is about a overflowing amount of love for a person. How so much love between two people can make each other feel fearless and powerful, as evident when Adamou sings “Nothing to fear, when you are near”. The overall mood of this song is very upbeat, lively and catchy. Overall, this performance is extremely different from the first two performances in many aspects. 

From 2010-2012, the performances by Cyprus have differed in many ways. The one feature which links all these performances together is how all the songs are about love. Yes, of course they all take on a different take on love. In 2010, Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders talk about love in the way of two people separating during harsh times, then coming back together when the time is right again. Christos Mylordos in 2011 brought up how despite the pain and suffering loved ones can do to each other, there is always room for forgiveness if the love is great enough. Finally, in 2012 Ivi Adamou bring up how love can be so strong and powerful that it makes the couple feel invincible. Other than this though, the performances differ greatly from the genre of music and lighting and mood. One performance was very traditional with the lyrics being sung in Greek and the Greek orthodox hymns. Another was more folk/contemporary and the last was more pop. The 2010 and 2012 performances are definitely more western than Cypriot with the lyrics being sung in English, and the genre of the music. With the differences of these performances, the audience can see the range of diversity within Cyprus. 





Citations:

Christos Mylordos. (2011). San Aggelos S’Agapisa (Cyprus). Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Düsseldorf. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxkBW0ey5BU

Ivi Adamou. (2012). La La Love (Cyprus). Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Baku. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex133UhxB64

Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders. (2010). Life Looks Better in Spring (Cyprus). Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Oslo. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGNtoR2hom4

       The national identity of a country is the political and cultural aspects that of which define the country. The culture of a country includes musical traditions, religion,  language and of course, the people. According to Anna Triandafyllidou, the national identity of a nation is described as a “psychological bond that binds fellow nationals together” creating as she put it “a sense of belonging” (Triandafyllidou 1992). The “sense of belonging” could be easier for other nations, however for Cyprus it is a little more complicated that that. The north part of Cyprus would call themselves “Turkish Cypriots” however on the south part of Cyprus, they label themselves “Greek Cypriots”. The national identity of the Republic of Cyprus diverges across the land.

       The Republic of Cyprus was a former British colony, but declared their independence in 1960. However, their was a strain between Turkish Cypriots in the north and Greek Cypriots in the south and in 1963 violence broke out in the capitol on Nicosia. A year later in 1964, the Greek government supported a coup to overthrow the president of Cyprus, however the Turkish government got ahold of this plan and intervened. In 1983, the northern part of Cyprus—which was predominantly Turkish Cypriots— declared themselves the “Republic of Northern Cyprus” (TRNC) although this declaration was only recognized by Turkey. The United Nations (UN) came together to vote if they wanted to acknowledge TRNC, but this vote failed. Then the leaders of TRNC and the Republic of Cyprus (ROC) came together to see if they could unify the country together again, however this failed again. The entire nation then entered the European Union (EU) in 2004 but the EU only recognizes an “internationally recognized government” so all the laws and rights to those under the EU do not apply to TRNC (CIA). However a Turkish Cypriot may still document their legality under TRNC.

       Even though the two communities live on the same, small island, their languages and ethnicities and culture differ greatly. In the Republic of Cyprus, the Greek Cypriots speak Greek and a majority of them are Christian Orthodox. (Psaltis Chakal 2). The musical traditions in the ROC are closely linked with that of Greece. Church music was very common and prominent during the “identity-building process of the Greek Cypriot population” (Hasikou 2). A Byzantine chant was especially notable in the Greek Cypriot nationalist movement. This brought out the ‘Greekness’ in the ROC as the Byzantine music stood as a important symbol for the “cultural heritage from ancient Greece” that both Greece and the ROC share (Hasikou 2). This traditional music ensemble included the incorporation of wind and string instruments accompanied by small orchestras. As time has gone on and society has become modernized, Cyprus followed along incorporating more modern, western music in their country contributing to their national identity. Genres such as pop, rock and heavy metal, folk and electronic music is very common in the Republic of Cyprus today.

       The politics in both TRNC and ROC differ as well. In the Republic of Cyprus, they have a Presidential democracy with the president being Nicos Anastasiades who has held office since 1997. In the Republic of Northern Cyprus they have a semi-presidential democracy with the president being Mustafa Akıncı and the prime minister, Hüseyin Özgürgün. The vice president position in the Republic of Cyprus has always been open for a Turkish Cypriot, however this spot has not been filled since 1974 because Turkish Cypriots do not interfere with the Cyprus government. 

       The Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriots speak Turkish and a majority of them are Sunni Muslim (Psaltis Chakal 2). Fold music is very traditional and popular in Northern Cyprus. Additionally, fasil, which is a traditional Turkish music is very popular as well. Fasil was derived from the Ottoman’s, “some dating back to the 14 century” (Cyprus44 1). In this type of music, different scales and/or modes are put together and they make a song. In a fasil, their is a “prelude, postlude and a first section that begins and ends with improvised music” (Cyprus44). Another popular genre of music is jazz and mainstream pop—which is mostly played in newer clubs and hotel discos. 

       Greek Cypriots say that they have always wanted to have a unified state and live peacefully and coexist with the dissimilar communities. While Turkish Cypriots say that this has never and probably will never happen seeing as the two unalike groups have always fought and lived in conflict. Greek Cypriots became more integrated with Greek educational systems and they watch Greek television. Turkish Cypriots mixed their culture more with Turkey through their economy and customs. 

       Overall, the national identity of Cyprus as a country is complex since their are two different sides with clashing religions, languages, politics and culture in total. However as time goes on and society becomes more modern, the two sides are becoming more alike. Turkish Cypriots, all though are closely linked with Turkey are seen more as liberated Turkish Cypriots, and in 1974 many of them decided to identify as Cypriots rather than Turks. They also felt threatened  by cultural assimilation when an arrival of Turks entered their island. Their influence of religion is also decreasing on both sides with Turkish Cypriots who did take after the Turkish national identity, which surfaced as an anti-religious ideology; and Greek Cypriots had strong religious associations with the Hellenic–Christians ideals, but the influence of religion still decreased. The national identity has always been indistinguishable between the two groups of Turkish and Greek Cypriots, however in the future maybe Cyprus can unify and become one nation and obtain one strong national identity. 

Word Count: 945 

Citations:

Cakal; Psaltis. ( 2016). "Social Identity in a Divided Cyprus" [web log post.] Retrieved from            https://ucy.ac.cy/dir/documents/dir/cpsaltis/Psaltis_and_Chakal_2016_SIT_in_CY.                pdf

Cyprus. (2018). The CIA World Factbook Retrieve from https://www.cia.gov/library/         publications/the-world- factbook/geos/cy.html                

Cyprus44. Music in North Cyprus. Retrieved from http://www.cyprus44.com/culture/music  .asp

Cyprus. Countries and their Cultures. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Cr- Ga/Cyprus.html

Hasikou. (2015, July). "Music and Society in Cyprus: British Colonialism and the  Emergence of European Music Traditions" [web log post.] Retrieved from  http://www.athensjournals.gr/humanities/2015-2-3-5-Hasikou.pdf

Triandafyllidou, A. (1998). National identity and the 'other.' Ethnic and Racial Studies, 21(4)  593-612. Retrieved from http://login.proxy.seattleu.edu/login?url=https://search- proquest-com.proxy.seattleu.edu/docview/210167159?accountid=28598

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello fellow Eurovision watchers! I will be focusing on the country of Cyprus and their involvement in Eurovision. I am excited to share all my findings and opinions! Thank you.