Blog Post 2

“Ela” by Andromache Cyprus 2022

Blog Post 1 Summary

In my first blog post, I listed that the national identity of Cyprus revolved around religion, bilingualism,

and division. As I’ve researched more, I’ve found that religion remains to be a key figure of Cypriot

national identity, yet I lacked further research in the bilingualism and division aspect. As I move into Blog

Post 2, I identify Cyprus as being a rich culture that revolves around religion and rich history that make it

unique and unlike any other European country.

Cyprus Semi-final 2022

In 2022, Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in Turn, Italy with its second

semi-final performance being “Ela” by Andromache. The performance was highly liked, although it did

not end up winning and ended up in 12th place with 63 points. However, the performance proved to be

an incredible representation of Cyprus and showed off key aspects of Cypriot culture.

Andromache’s background

Before we analyze “Ela”, it’s important to get context on the performer herself. Andromache

Dimitropoulou is a singer born in Germany to Greek parents (Wikipedia, 2026). She moved with her

family to Greece when she was nine years old where she studied German philology and eventually began

her singing career by participating in music scenes throughout Greece (Santos, 2022).

“Ela” Background + Musical Instruments

“Ela” is sung in both Greek and English. In an interview, Andromache stated the meaning behind using

both languages in her song. She noted that she wanted to be more inclusive to the Eurovision fanatics

and implementing English would “help the viewers and listeners understand the song better.” (Santos,

2022). The word “Ela” is translated to English as “Come” or “Come on” and is categorized as a love song.

As for the music itself, the song is listed as folklore-pop with a mix of bouzouki (Eurovision 2022).

Bouzouki is a lute instrument which is primarily used today in Greek music (Salamuzik, 2026). It's also

commonly used in Turkish music and Irish folklore (Salamuzik, 2026).

Performance

The main place where you get clues of symbolism and significance is primarily through the performance

itself. The stage is dark with a seashell in the center. Towards the front end, there is a waterfall-like

system which almost looks like it could be waves coming from an ocean shore. Andromache herself is in

a shell by herself as the start of the song. The lights are dimmed down low with blue lights coming from

above Andromache and a separate blue light highlighting the water. As Andromache begins to sing, there

is an image that is being projected onto the shell which seems like water moving. As she begins to sing,

she mentions the word “Electricity” and the water-like image that is being projected on the shell looks to

have a burst of energy as there is a light flash of light. The song picks up speed within the first 40 seconds

and this is where the backup dancers appear. They start off far away from the shell and begin moving

closer as Andromache sings her chorus “You could be my only one”. It's important to note that the

performers are not doing an extravagant dance routine. They sway their hands the majority of the

performance which makes it seem as a water-like figure. During the chorus, there are also bursts of gold

lights shining behind the shell and it seems to look like gold stars. The scene that Andromache set here

becomes clear that it’s a reference to Greek mythology, specifically the birth of Venus (also known as

Aphrodite or the goddess of love). The birth of Venus was painted by the artist Botticelli and has carried

significant meaning in Greek mythology as Aphrodite is one of the most well-known characters. In

addition to this, the birth of Venus is especially significant within Cyprus as Greek mythology states that

Aphrodite appeared on the shores of Paphos, Cyprus (Parenti, 2019).

In the painting, you can clearly see a shell where Aphrodite comes out of. If you notice the hair, it seems

like the characters are redheads or an orange-toned hair color. In the performance, you can see that

both backup dancers and Andromache matched the hair color. In addition to this, the costumes that the

backup dancers used had long pieces of fabric hanging and covering their front and backside. The fabric

could represent the drapes in the Botticelli painting from the characters surrounding Aphrodite. In an

interview, Andromache noted the shell stage and said “we come out of it and sing in order to try to

seduce who we love.” (Santos, 2022). This further shows the Greek mythology aspect of the song and

performance.

Some of the lyrics of the song also begin to take on more meaning in which Andromache sings “Take my

pain away”. This wording almost seems as if Andromache is singing to a heroic sense rather than a

person. There is also a time where she sings “Put wings and fly” which further implicates a mythological

sense into the performance.

The performance can be categorized as a simulation where the performance was bringing the Boticelli

painting to life when in reality, Greek mythology stories are seen as myths and cultural stories within the

Greek population today.

Andromache’s Identity

It’s important to note that Andromache herself also has connections to Greek mythology. Andromache is

the name of a key figure in Greek mythology. She was a goddess, the wife of Hector and daughter of

Eetion (Santos, 2022). Putting together the meaning and metaphors in the song, performance, and

Andromache herself, there is no doubt that the entire performance, down to costumes and lighting,

signifies Greek mythology and Greek culture.

Connecting it Together

Overall, “Ela” was an incredible performance from Cyprus and was a fun song that had some interesting

meaning behind it. From the analysis, there are two key aspects that both reinforce Cypriot national

identity and can also create tension within the communities.

One of the ways that Cypriot national identity was reinforced was through the music itself. The bouzouki

helped in adding an ethnic tone by connecting back to Cypriot culture. Since the bouzouki is used not

only in Greece and Türkiye but in Irish folklore as well, it creates a sense of cosmopolitanism where there

are several communities who can identify with the music. While Turkish-Cypriots are a small minority to

Cyprus, it does not take away that they are a growing community and deserve to feel included in their

national performance. “Ela” did an incredible job in the music aspect to include an important and

popular instrument within the Turkish and Greeks. Since there was also a mix of pop within the music, it

sounded similar to the modern music heard around Western Europe which also made the performance

feel more diverse and inclusive.

With that being said, it’s crucial to highlight that the performance was overwhelmingly referencing Greek

mythology. While Greek mythology used to be a practiced religion, Greeks typically view it today as a

part of their culture, history, and literature. However, the same thing cannot be said about the other

demographics living in Cyprus. Cyprus has a mix of Turkish-Cypriots, Marions, and Armenians among the

majority Greek-Cypriot population (CIA, 2026). None of these demographics have Greek mythology as a

significant aspect of their cultural identity. While the Marions, Armenias, and Turkish-Cypriots only make

up about 1.1% of the total Cypriot population, it does not diminish the fact that these demographics

have their own cultures and could have been represented within the Eurovision performance. In this

sense, “Ela” was partly essen-alized to show off Greek culture and history within Cyprus and

marginalized the smaller population that resides and identifies as Cypriot.

Summary

To summarize, “Ela” by Andromache was the second semi-final performance from Cyprus in the

Eurovision Song Contest of 2022. The performance was a reference to a Botticelli painting of the birth of

Venus from Greek mythology. Because of this, it proved to be a simulation of the Botticelli painting and

Greek mythology. Finally, it both reinforced and created tension within Cypriot national identity through

the use of the Bouzouki and essentializing Greek culture rather than representing the other Cypriot

minorities’ cultures within the performance.

Words used: 1374

References:

Central Intelligence Agency. (2026). Cyprus. In The World Factbook. Retrieved February 3 2026, from

hnp://web.archive.org/web/20260201050400/hnps://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/

countries/cyprus/

Eurovision. (2022). Zypern - Andromache · “Ela” | Zweites Halbfinale. Eurovision. hXps://

www.eurovision.de/videos/2022/Zypern-Andromache-Ela-Zweites-Halbfinale-2022,zypern982.html

History of Bouzouki. (2021, May 26). Sala Muzik. hXps://salamuzik.com/blogs/news/history-of-

bouzouki?srsl-d=AfmBOopnebwnXPJPRFbq0wmHx-rK1B6q8vlLtPrg3WrhyRBC7dhkWGRY

Paren-, D. (2019). The Birth of Venus by Bo_celli. Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi. hXps://www.uffizi.it/en/

artworks/birth-of-venus

Santos, Pedro. (2022, May 7). Andromache: “I just want to honour Cyprus.” Eurovisionworld. hXps://

eurovisionworld.com/esc/andromache-i-just-want-to-honour-cyprus

Wikipedia. (2026, February 26). Andromache (singer). Wikipedia; Wikimedia Founda-on. hXps://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromache_(singer)