Cyprus are a bit of a weirdo this year. The story as we know it so far:

CyBC were opening up a national final for 2018. The winner would get a song they had chosen beforehand. That song would be composed by Alex Papaconstantinou, one of the most famous and successful composers in the region.

In December, CyBC entered the final stages of the auditions. Christer Björkman was there to help them pick their act. That all seemed to go to plan, until people within the broadcaster started to doubt the decision.

The unknown acts, applying for the national final, were not considered good enough to carry the song Alex P had written. CyBC must have believed the song was top five, if not winning, material. They decided to have a look elsewhere: An internal selection.

That internal selection couldn't just be anybody, but they had a clear profile: A famous, Greek female singer with plenty of stage experience. That has led them to three names: Tamta, Eleni Foureira and Helena Paparizou.

The latter seems to be negotiating with CyBC at this moment to discuss terms of a Eurovision participation. They're all far from sure it's going to work out (financially), but she would be the dream entrant for the Cypriot broadcaster at this moment.

Once again: This is a rumoured story. Believe of it what you want, but I thought it was interesting to share and see the thought process behind this rumour. Personally, I feel many hints are pointing in the direction of this story being true. Without guarantee that they'll be able to finalise the deal, Cyprus have managed to get the focus shifted towards them now.

As far as I know, Tamta had been asked and refused and I haven't heard about Foureira at all.
Helena is expected to give her reply today or tomorrow. I hope she turns them down.

Greece all the way this year