Cyprus has officially chosen its representatives for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2025, with 14-year-old Rafaella Panteli and 12-year-old Christos Georgiou set to take the stage in Tbilisi, Georgia, on December 13. The duo will perform the song “Away,” written by an international team of songwriters: Christopher Wortley, Hannah Brine, Peter Barringer, Greig Watts, Paul Drew, and Andy Lys. The song will be released at a later date.

Panteli and Georgiou were selected through a national audition process organized by CyBC, which drew 70 hopefuls. A five-member jury assessed the contestants’ vocal talent, stage presence, and performance skills, awarding Eurovision-style points. The pair secured the highest overall score. A separate competition determined the Cypriot entry song, with “Away” chosen from 20 international submissions for its compatibility with the young performers’ energy and style.

Panteli, who began performing at a very young age, has already appeared in musical theatre productions such as Annie, Into the Woods, The Greatest Showman, and Hairspray. She has also earned top prizes in national and international dance competitions and is currently preparing for her Grade 8 Musical Theatre exam with Trinity College London.

Georgiou, a passionate Eurovision fan, is a first-year high school student who has been singing and performing since childhood. He plays drums at Grade 6 level, has trained in dance and sports, and has recently begun composing his own music with Ableton. Representing Cyprus at Junior Eurovision has been a long-standing dream of his.

This will mark Cyprus’s second consecutive appearance after returning to the contest in 2024, when Maria Pissarides competed in Madrid with the song “Crystal Waters,” finishing 13th with 60 points. The island nation first entered Junior Eurovision in 2003 and has since placed in the Top 10 four times, with its best results being 8th place in both 2004 and 2006. Cyprus also hosted the contest in Limassol in 2008.

Junior Eurovision 2025 will take place at the Olympic Palace in Tbilisi, the same venue that hosted the event in 2017. Georgia won the right to host after Andria Putkaradze’s song “To My Mom” secured the country’s record-breaking fourth Junior Eurovision victory in 2024.