Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Cypriot entry was selected through a combination of an internal selection, to select the artist, and a national final, to select the song, both organised by the Cypriot broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation. Ivi Adamou represented Cyprus with the song "La La Love", which qualified from the first semi-final and went on to place 16th in the final, scoring 65 points, Cyprus' best placing in the Eurovision Song Contest since attaining 5th place in 2004.
Background
Prior to the 2012 Contest, Cyprus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-nine times since its first entry in 1981. Its best placing was fifth, which it achieved three times: in 1982 with the song "Mono I Agapi" performed by Anna Vissi, in 1997 with "Mana Mou" performed by Hara and Andreas Constantinou, and 2004 with "Stronger Every Minute" performed by Lisa Andreas. Cyprus's least successful result was in 1986 when it placed last in 1986 with the song "Tora Zo" by Elpida, receiving only three points in total. However, its worst finish in terms of points received was when it placed second to last in 1999 with "Tha'nai Erotas" by Marlain Angelidou, receiving only two. The Cypriot national broadcaster, Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts the event in Cyprus each year and organizes the selection process for its entry. Selection processes have varied over the years from full national finals, such as in 2008, and 2009, and 2010 where the public chooses both the song and performer, to internal selections such as in 2005 and 2007 where the artist and sometimes song also is chosen by CyBC. For 2012, CyBC chose a hybrid selection process where the artist was chosen internally while the song will be chosen with a national final. This was opposite of the process used in 2011.
The final took place on 25 January 2012, and was hosted by Christos Grigoriades live from RIK studio in Nicosia. The winning entry was chosen by a 50/50 combination of jury and televoting.
At Eurovision
In the running order draw, it was revealed that Cyprus were to perform 12th in the first-semi final. After qualifying, they were then drew position 8 in the final. They finished in 16th place with 65 points, one point ahead of Greece.
Split results
In the Semi-final 1 Cyprus came 7th with 91 points: the public awarded Cyprus 6th place with 99 points and the jury awarded 4th place with 90 points.
In the Final Cyprus came 16th with 65 points: the public awarded Cyprus 15th place with 63 points and the jury awarded 12th place with 85 points.
