Silia Kapsis: The Sydney-born singer set to represent Cyprus at Eurovision 2024

Meet Silia Kapsis, the 17-year-old musical prodigy whose soaring vocals and infectious energy have catapulted her onto the grand stage of Eurovision 2024 as the youngest contestant in this year's lineup.

Cyprus once again looks beyond its borders for talent to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest.

After the island nation was represented by Andreas Labrou last year, Vasiliki Silia Kapsis will sing for Cyprus at this year's contest, set to take place in Malmö, Sweden, in May.

Silia is of Hellenic background, her father originating from Cyprus and her mother from Greece.

Silia's entrancing creative journey started at the age of four, when her family recognised her innate talent and nurtured it with singing and dancing lessons. From those early years, music became more than a mere pastime for Silia – it became the heartbeat of her existence.

Back then, I loved singing and dancing so much that I didn’t want the lessons to end. It was my favourite thing.

The 17-year-old singer is the youngest talent in the contest, and her song ‘Liar’ has been selected to open the first round of the semifinals.

Silia followed Dimitri Kontopoulos on Instagram, looking up to him as a talented composer. After he followed her back, Mr. Kontopoulos and Silia's mum came in contact before making plans to meet in Greece, where they explored the possibilities of entering the contest. There, Silia was presented with three different songs, and without hesitation, she decided to go with ‘Liar,’ which was composed by Mr. Kontopoulos.

Speaking to SBS Greek, Silia said that at the time, she wasn’t sure whether she was going to represent Greece, Cyprus, or Australia. Silia and her team were caught by surprise when RIK, the Cypriot public broadcaster, announced her name.

I really like dance music, and ‘Liar’ has that pop element. It’s upbeat and powerful. I want to dance when I’m on the stage.

"So far, ‘Liar’ is doing much better than I thought it would online. There are a lot of people who do dance covers and put their videos up on TikTok and Instagram."

Since January, Silia has been moving between Cyprus and Greece in preparation for the contest. It comes at a time when she is in her last year of school, meaning that she has to follow her classes online. When asked about her future, Silia said that her primary pursuit is to follow singing, dancing, and acting, while studying at a university is her Plan B.

Some of Silia's favourite Greek artists are Giannis Ploutarhos, Sakis Rouvas, Antonis Remos, and Marinella. She has fond memories of visiting Greece when she was young and going on stage dancing and singing with Ploutarhos at one of his concerts.

Her favourite song, though, is ‘Gia ton idio anthropo milame’ by Pantelidis and Karras.

I really like to sing in Greek. It feels comfortable, and my voice relaxes.

This year's Eurovision Song Contest is happening in Malmö, Sweden, after Loreen won the contest in 2023 with her song, ‘Tattoo’. It’s the second time the Swedish singer has won the competition, making her the only woman to do so in the history of Eurovision.

The semi-finals are set to take place on May 7th and 9th. Cyprus and Australia are competing on May 7th for a position in the Final. This year, Australia is represented by Electric Fields with the song ‘One Milkali (One Blood)’.

Greece, with Marina Satti’s ‘ZARI,’ will compete in the second semi-final on Thursday, May 9th.

The Final is scheduled for Saturday, May 11th.