This is Marlain, who sang "Tha'ne Erotas" for Cyprus and scored only 2 points for what was one of the best performances of the night, and for one of the better songs. I'd met Marlain at the Trehantiri record signing three weeks before the final, and she remembered me well when I first saw her in the Crown Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem, and insisted I kiss her on each cheek. Marlain is a bit of a veteran of the Cypriot final, having taken part in the 1998 contest - I do hope the unjustified poor score in the 1999 contest doesn't hold back her promising career in musical theatre. It's just this kind of stupid scoring that stops talented people entering the contest.

The sound people made some mistakes but visually the 1999 contest was stunning. Here's a view of Darja Svajger taken during the Saturday afternoon rehearsal.