Marios Tofi (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Μάριος Τοφή, ; born 24 February 1990 in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

) is a

Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots (, ) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2023 census, 719,252 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming almost 99% of the 737,196 Cypri ...

singer and songwriter. He is best known for representing Cyprus at the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the second edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for young singers aged eight to fifteen. It was held on 20 November 2004, in Håkons Hall, Lillehammer, Norway and lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes ...

with the song "Onira".

Biography

Marios Tofi was born on 24 February 1990 in

to Cypriot parents. Marios Tofi has been living in

Famagusta Famagusta, also known by several other names, is a city located on the eastern coast of Cyprus. It is located east of the capital, Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under the maritime ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

since five years old. From the age of eight, Marios has demonstrated an interest and passion for music, singing and dance. He has got the proper musical education from the beginning. He has been studying piano, guitar,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

, theory of music and taking vocal courses. He also studied

Classical Ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet), turnout of the legs, ...

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

Flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

for seven years. He speaks

, English and now is studying Spanish and French lessons. He sings in Greek, English, Spanish, Italian, French and other languages. Marios, loves performing live in big music events and festivals, he likes close contact with the audience when performing and his performances are always dynamic, full of energy and passion. He performed in several concerts and festivals in United Kingdom,

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, Spain, Italy,

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, Germany,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and much more. Marios also collaborated with Greek, Cypriot and European famous artists in live concerts and live TV shows in several countries.

1999 – The Beginning

In April 1999, Marios participated in the 1st Pancyprian Performing Contest where he placed 1st. The contest was organized by the Cypriot broadcaster

CyBC Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (; ), or CyBC (; ), is Cyprus' public broadcasting service. It transmits island-wide on four radio and two domestic television channels, and uses one satellite channel for the Cypriot diaspora. It also transmits o ...

. In June 1999, he participated in the local contest of "Kataklysmos" Festival in

Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...

, Cyprus where he placed 1st. In September 2003, the company "Chris Cash & Carry" and Marios collaborated for a school advertisement. It was a very successful advertisement and as a result the sales of the supermarket doubled. After this success, in December 2003 he accepted a second proposal from the supermarket "Chris Cash & Carry" for their Christmas advertisement, again with a successful outcome.

2004 – Junior Eurovision Song Contest

On 7 September 2004, Marios was selected from 54 entries to represent Cyprus at the 2nd Junior

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

on 20 November 2004 in

by televoting and by jury. After that, he has had a tour to present his very successful song "Onira" (Music/Lyrics: Marios Tofi). Also he had many appearances in

, United Kingdom,

and other countries. On 20 November 2004, in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

he took the very well 8th place from eighteen countries. After Junior Eurovision Song Contest he accepted many invitations from several countries to participate in their festivals. On 27 November 2004, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain he invited to present his song on their victory celebration in

. It was a special invitation to perform among famous Spanish artists and having in mind that he was the only guest star from the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

2005 – Tours / Festivals / Awards / Collaboration with Chiara

In June 2005, Marios participated in the International Song Festival "Song – Magic" in

Varna, Bulgaria Varna (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, t ...

and won the "Special Award by the Jury" as the best of all among 15 countries and more than 100 songs with the songs "Xehnas" ("You forget") (Music/Lyrics: Andreas Gerolemou) and "Unbreakable" (Music: Michael Roussos, Lyrics: John Vickers). This Festival takes place every year and this is the first time after 15 years that they awarded Marios with this prize. In August 2005, Marios participated in the International Song Festival "Palangos Gaida – 2005" in

Palanga Palanga (; ; ) is a resort town, resort city in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Palanga is the busiest and the largest summer resort in Lithuania and has sand, sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long and up to 300 metres, 10 ...

and won the "Audience Award" with the song "M' ena fili" ("With a kiss") (Music: Andrius Kulikausko, Lyrics: Andreas Gerlemou). In August 2005, Marios also performed as a guest in the Festival "Heart of Gold" in

Marsaskala Marsaskala, sometimes written as Marsascala is a seaside town in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta. Originally a fishing village, it has grown into a tourist destination and a permanent hometown for an ever-growing population. ...

, Malta. This is one of the biggest festivals in Malta and was for charities purposes. Dancers from the No.1 Dancing School in Malta, "YADA", danced behind Marios and both they impressed the audience. In November 2005, Marios participated in the 7th International Song Contest "Universetalent" in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Czech Republic. He was one of the 12 finalists who pre-selected among 100 entries. He won the "Journalist Jury Award" and the 3rd Prize, "Best Singer" with the song "Agapi Magiki" ("Magic Love") (Music: Michael Roussos, Lyrics: George Ioannou). In December 2005, Marios collaborated with Chiara from Malta (2nd place – Eurovision Song Contest 2005) and made a duet with title "Once upon a dream" (Music: Michael Roussos, Greek lyrics: George Ioannou, English lyrics: John Vickers).

2006 – Tours / Festivals / Awards / Eurovision Song Contest (Cyprus Final)

In February 2006, Marios was one of the 10 finalists who pre-selected among 114 participations in order to select the one who will represent Cyprus in Eurovision Song Contest 2006. After a hard competition he took the 2nd place by televoting with the song "Congratulations" (Music: Christodoulos Siganos, Lyrics: Christodoulos Siganos & Valentino). In May 2006, he participated in the International Pop Song Festival "Discovery 2006" in Bulgaria and he won the "Special Award by The Jury" with the song "Xehnas" ("You forget") (Music/Lyrics: Andreas Gerolemou) and the 2nd prize as "Best Singer" with the song "Congratulations" (Music: Christodoulos Siganos, Lyrics: Christodoulos Siganos & Valentino). In June 2006, Marios participated in the International Song and Dance Festival "Konin 2006" in

Konin Konin () is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. In 2021 the population of the city was 71,427, making it the fourth-largest city in Greater Poland af ...

, Poland among 2500 participants from 11 countries and won 2nd prize "Silver Prize" with the song "Congratulations" (Music: Christodoulos Siganos, Lyrics: Christodoulos Siganos & Valentino). In July 2006, Marios invited to participate in the XV International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar" in

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

, Belarus. He was accompanied by the National Concert Orchestra of Belarus conducted by Maestro Mikhail Finberg. He impressed the audience with his performance and sang Greek and Russian songs. In August 2006, Marios participated in the International Song Festival "Ohrid 2006" in

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

, Macedonia. He was one of the 26 finalists from 11 countries. He won the 2nd prize from the Jury with the song "Congratulations" (Music: Christodoulos Siganos, Lyrics: Christodoulos Siganos & Valentino). In September 2006, Marios participated in the International Pop Festival "Canzoni Dal Mondo" in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy and won the 1st prize, "Best Song" among 10 countries with the song "Congratulations" (Music: Christodoulos Siganos, Lyrics: Christodoulos Siganos & Valentino). In November 2006, he participated in the International Song Festival "Berliner Perle" in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany. He was one of the 19 finalists who pre-selected among 53 participations from 13 countries. He won the "Special Award by The Jury" as the best performance with the songs "Congratulations" (Music: Christodoulos Siganos, Lyrics: Christodoulos Siganos & Valentino) and "There’s no sunshine anymore" by Jon Secada in a new version. In December 2006, Marios invited to represent

into the International TV Song Festival held in

where the Maltese audience appreciated his participation.

2007 – Tours / Festivals / Awards

In April 2007, he took part in the 10th International Song Contest for youths "Tahtede Laul 2007" in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, Estonia. He won the award "Best Performance" with the song "There’s no sunshine anymore" by Jon Secada in a new version. In May 2007, the organizing committee of the International Pop Song Festival "Discovery 2007" in

International Pop Music Festival – Discovery 2007
invited Marios to participate as a guest. The audience and the media appreciated his impressive performance. In July 2007, Marios participated in the International Music Festival "Universong" in

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, Spain. He won the 2nd prize (Silver Prize) "Best Singer" with the song "Congratulations" (Music: Christodoulos Siganos, Lyrics: Christodoulos Siganos & Valentino) among 12 countries.

Awards

References

External links

Official Website

Official YouTube Channel
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tofi, Marios 1990 births Living people 21st-century Cypriot male singers 21st-century Cypriot musicians Cypriot male musicians Cypriot pop singers Cypriot singer-songwriters English-language singers from Cyprus Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrants Greek Cypriot singers Cypriot child singers