Aussievision team: Kyriakos

Name and where you live

I'm Kyriakos and I live in Brisbane, Queensland. I am originally from Adelaide, South Australia.

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I work in the construction industry as an architectural graduate. When I am not watching or doing anything Eurovision related I love to draw and paint from still life subjects with my favourite medium being pastels.

I am of Greek background with both my parents born in Greece.

Other passions of mine include politics, travelling, collecting vinyls. Interesting things I have done include paragliding over Garmisch-Partenkirchen near the Austrian border in Germany, to visiting the Chernobyl Nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

What is your Eurovision journey?

I first watched Eurovision with my grandparents in 2001. We barracked for Greece hoping Antique duo Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis would win and score Greece their first ever win with '(I Would) Die for you'. The pair didn't win but they did finish in third place, Greece's best ever result at the time, there was a sense of huge pride with their achievement.

We then made it a yearly ritual to watch Eurovision together and barrack for Greece and see if we could possibly win one day. What we didn't know was that Antique started a Golden Era for Greece at Eurovision.

Greece won in 2005 with Helena Paparizou's song 'My Number One' in Kyiv. It was a euphoric achievement for Greece after the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, winning the Euro football and the Euro Basket in 2005.

My obsession for the Contest took a whole new level with the addition of Australia in the Contest. One of my favourite moments at 'Eurovision - Australia Decides' was in 2019 watching Måns Zelmerlöw perform 'Heroes'. I am a huge Måns fan so it was great to experience him performing his Eurovision winning song. Also got to meet him in person in the Gold Coast after the competition.

Do you have any affinity to nations other than Australia?

I do like Sweden in the Contest, all thanks to a little song called 'Euphoria'. When I travelled throughout Europe in 2012 'Euphoria' was on repeat every time I put on my ear phones. It felt so fitting to listen to 'Euphoria' in Europe. I also love many entries from Ukraine, and love to follow Lithuania's national final.

Any Aussievision highlights?

Covering Australia Decides on the ground has always been amazing experiences, and the artists are always so sweet. I loved being interviewed by the Eurotrip Podcast and with ABC Radio for my thoughts on Australia Decides. Also I have really enjoyed doing great interviews with Australia Decides and Eurovision artists. One of my highlights was interviewing former Australian Eurovision commentator Des Mangan.

Quick questions on Eurovision entries

Best winner:

It is difficult to pick just one!!

'Heroes' (Sweden 2015), 'My Number One' (Greece 2005) and 'Euphoria' (Sweden 2012)

Favourite three non-Australian entries:

'Nel blu, dipinto di blu (Volare)' (Italy 1958), 'Addio, addio' (Italy 1962) and 'Dancing Lasha Tumbai' (Ukraine 2007).

Favourite Australian entry:

Live: 'Sound of Silence', Studio: 'Don't Break Me', Staging: 'Zero Gravity'

Robberies:

Dami Im was robbed in 2016, she really was!!! Also Antique should have won in 2001, the song was way better than the runner-up and winner that year.

Guilty pleasure:

I have many guilty pleasures!!! 'Moja štikla' (Croatia 2006) is amazing, 'Baila el Chiki Chiki' (Spain 2008) is a train wreck but I love it, and 'Congratulations' (Iceland 2006) absolutely epic!!

Favourite non-qualifier:

'Øve os på hinanden' (Denmark 2021), 'Telemóveis' (Portugal 2019) and 'Sing It Away' (Finland 2016).

Favourite Eurovision year:

2015 - Without a doubt, Australia makes their debut and Måns Zelmerlöw wins!!

2005 - Greece wins the Contest, and hosts an amazing show the year after!

2001 - The first Eurovision I remember watching in full.

Favourite national finals:

Pabandom iš naujo! (Lithuania), Festivali i Kenges (Albania) and Australia Decides in the beautiful Gold Coast!!

Favourite national final songs:

'Cara mia' (Sweden 2007), 'Hope & Glory' (Sweden 2009), '2000 And Whatever' (Australia 2019), 'Andromeda' (Italy 2021), 'Not Your Mother' (Lithuania 2022) and 'Nëse Vdes' (Albania 2021).

Any final comments?

I think in recent year the addition of 'Eurovision - Australia Decides' has been amazing to connect fans of the Contest and create our own mini Eurovision here in Australia. It is also a great platform for artists to get new music out there to the public. I hope the show continues to grow!!

Let's hope we see Australia sneak in a Eurovision win real soon!!