Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest

Greece has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 44 times since its debut in 1974, missing six contests in that time (1975, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1999, and 2000). The country won for the first and to date only time in 2005 with "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou. The Greek participant broadcaster in the contest is Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi (ERT). Greece has never finished last in the contest.
Throughout the 20th century, Greece achieved only two top five results, finishing fifth with "Mathema solfege" by Paschalis, Marianna, Robert, and Bessy in 1977 and again fifth with "Olou tou kosmou i elpida" by Cleopatra in 1992. The start of the 21st century saw Greece become one of the most successful countries in the contest, with ten out of thirteen top-ten results between 2001 and 2013, including third-place finishes for "Die for You" by Antique in 2001 (with 2005 winner Paparizou as lead singer), "Shake It" by Sakis Rouvas in 2004, and "Secret Combination" by Kalomira in 2008. Since 2014, Greece has had less success, including thrice failing to qualify for the final (2016, 2018, and 2023), although the country finished in the top ten twice during this period: in 2021 with "Last Dance" by Stefania, and in 2022 with "Die Together" by Amanda Tenfjord.
Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi (ERT) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Greece. Of all the Greek entries in the contest, only three were not from ERT. The country's debut in the contest in its 19th edition in 1974 was by ERT's predecessor Ethniko Idryma Radiofonias Tileoraseos (EIRT), and the Greek participation in the 2014 and 2015 contest was by ERT's replacement during its closure Nea Elliniki Radiofonia, Internet kai Tileorasi (NERIT).
Before Greece entered the contest, some Greek singers represented other countries. These singers were Jimmy Makulis (1961) for Austria, Yovanna (1965) for Switzerland, and Nana Mouskouri (1963) and Vicky Leandros (1967 and 1972) for Luxembourg.
In 1974, during the Greek military junta, rock band Nostradamos won the first Eurovision participation contest ran by the state broadcaster EIRT to represent Greece at Eurovision, after broadcasting it since 1970. However, due to a scandal, the band was not allowed to compete at Eurovision, and Greek laiko singer Marinella was sent instead. Greece did not participate in 1975 for "unknown reasons" according to the EBU, but it was later discovered that it was in protest of Turkey's debut and its invasion of Cyprus in 1974. On 3 December 1975, EIRT was replaced by ERT. Three years after Greece's debut in the contest, the country achieved its first top-five result with the song "Mathima solfege" (Solfege Lesson) performed by Bessy, Paschalis, Marianna and Robert in 1977. The decade closed with Greece reaching eighth place twice in 1978 and 1979 with the songs "Charlie Chaplin" and "Socrati".
Greece was disqualified from the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 after it was revealed that Themis Adamantidis was to sing "Sarantapente kopelies", a previously released song. A known Greek folk song, it had been revised for the competition, but this violated the rules which stated that all songs had to be original in terms of songwriting and instrumentation and cannot be cover songs. Greece was forced to pay a fine and was allowed to return the following year. Had Adamantidis been allowed to perform, he would have appeared second at Harrogate. After returning in 1983, ERT stated that all of the possible songs were of "low quality" and decided not to participate in the 1984 contest.
Greece returned once more to the contest in 1985, and Polina was selected in the 1986 national selection to represent Greece at the 1986 contest in Bergen, Norway, but ERT pulled out of the contest unexpectedly. Polina stated that it was due to political troubles in Greece at the time, but she noted that a Eurovision website had learned that the real reason was that the contest was to be held the night before Orthodox Easter. Had she performed, she would have appeared eighteenth and she would have performed the song "Wagon-lit". Greece returned to the contest in 1987 with the band Bang reaching 10th place. Overall the country reached three times top-ten in the 80s, with the other two songs being "Feggari kalokerino" in 1981 and "To diko sou asteri" in 1989.
During the 1990s, Greece achieved two top-ten results with Cleopatra and Katy Garbi reaching fifth and ninth place in 1992 and 1993 respectively. The nation performed each year until the Eurovision Song Contest 1999, when it was relegated from participation. This was as its five-year points average had fallen under the limit for participation after Thalassa's 20th-place finish in 1998. The following year, ERT announced that it would not return at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 (even though it was eligible to, having broadcast the 1999 contest on television) due to financial reasons.
Greece returned in 2001, and was represented by the Greek-Swedish duo Antique, consisting Helena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis. Their song "Die for You" was selected through Ellinikós Telikós 2001 and placed third at the 2001 contest, a new record for highest placing for the nation. Following two 17th place entries in 2002 and 2003 by Michalis Rakintzis ("S.A.G.A.P.O.") and Mando ("Never Let You Go"), respectively, ERT internally selected Sakis Rouvas for 2004. Rouvas' song "Shake It" was the first to compete in a contest semi-final, which had been introduced to accommodate the growing number of participating nations. After qualifying to the final, the song tied what had been the nation's best performance at the time, placing third.
Thirty-one years after its debut, Greece won for the first time in 2005 with Helena Paparizou (appearing as a solo performer) singing "My Number One". The entry's 230 points tied the record for the most top twelve points allocated to a song (ten in total), matching Katrina and the Waves' 1997 song "Love Shine a Light". The victory made Greece the first country that was not a member of Big Four to win the contest without participating in a semi-final. After Eurovision, the song topped the charts in Greece, Cyprus as well as Sweden and entered the top ten in Romania, the Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, as well as the American Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart. Later that year, contest organisers held a commemorative program, Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, to celebrate 50 years of the contest. At the event, "My Number One" came fourth in a vote for the show's most popular entry, behind "Hold Me Now" (1987), "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" (1958) and ABBA's "Waterloo" (1974).
The nation's 2005 win earned Greece the opportunity to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. Rouvas and Greek American presenter Maria Menounos hosted the event, which was staged in Athens at the O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall. The singer representing Greece was 1980's Greek entrant Vissi, who achieved ninth place with the song "Everything". Until the end of the decade Greece achieved three more top-ten results, including seventh place by Sarbel with "Yassou Maria" in 2007 and third place by Kalomira with "Secret Combination" in 2008.
From 2004 to 2006, ERT had selected high-profile artists internally and set up national finals to choose the song, while in 2007 and 2008 it held a televised national final to choose both the song and performer. For the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, ERT was able to secure a high-profile artist once again and planned a national final to choose the song. The song voted by the public was "This Is Our Night", another song performed by Sakis Rouvas, which eventually reached seventh place. Greece has been one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest in the 21st century with 12 times finishing in the top-ten and 20 in total.
At the 2010 contest, Greece finished eighth with the song "Opa", followed by a seventh place in 2011 with "Watch My Dance". After Eleftheria Eleftheriou placed 17th in 2012 with her song "Aphrodisiac", Greece achieved its 10th top-ten result of the century and 18th in total in 2013, finishing sixth with the song "Alcohol Is Free" by Koza Mostra and Agathonas Iakovidis. In 2014, Greece finished in 20th place, which, along with 1998, were the country's worst result in the contest at that time. Greece was one of only three countries (along with Romania and Russia) to have never failed to qualify from the semifinals since their 2004 introduction (2004–15). In addition, Greece also qualified from the 1996 audio-only pre-qualifying round.
In 2013, ERT was shut down by a government directive and replaced with the interim Dimosia Tileorasi (DT) and later by the NERIT broadcaster. During this time, from 2013 through 2015, the Greek television station MAD TV organised the selection process. On 28 April 2015, a legislative proposal that resulted in the renaming of NERIT to ERT was approved and signed into law by the Hellenic Parliament; ERT began broadcasting once again on 11 June 2015, and shortly after confirmed their intentions to once again participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.
For 2016, ERT selected the Eurovision entry internally. They selected the band Argo with the song "Utopian Land". For the first time since the semi-finals were introduced in 2004, Greece failed to qualify for the final, after finishing 16th in the first semi-final.
In 2017, ERT selected the composer Dimitris Kontopoulos and the choreographer Fokas Evangelinos internally. They chose Demy for representing Greece in Kyiv. ERT agreed, and on 6 March 2017, Greece chose their song via a national final. Three songs were competed: "Angels", "This Is Love" and "When the Morning Comes Around". The final result was combined by 70% from televoting and by 30% from international juries from nine countries. Finally, "This Is Love" gained 70% and won the national final. At Eurovision, she qualified for the Grand Final, where she finished in 19th place with 77 points.
For 2018, the Greek broadcaster decided to hold a national final to choose the Greek entry to Lisbon and was to take place on 22 February 2018. However, on 16 February 2018 ERT confirmed Yianna Terzi as the Greek representative for the 2018 contest following the disqualification of Areti Ketime and Chorostalites, with the selected song being "Oniro mou". In Lisbon, Greece failed to qualify for the grand final for the second time on its participation history. In 2019, ERT selected internally Katerine Duska to represent Greece in Tel Aviv with the song "Better Love" finishing 21st. It was later revealed that Greece placed fifth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 185 points.
In 2020, ERT decided once again decided to select the Greek entry internally. Seven acts were shortlisted to represent Greece in Rotterdam, including Irini Papadopoulou, Stefania, Ian Stratis, and the boy band One, with Stefania ultimately being announced as the entrant on 3 February 2020 with the song "Supergirl". Greece was drawn to compete in the second semi-final and was to perform in the first position, but on 18 March, the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The EBU announced soon after that entries intended for 2020 would not be eligible for the following year, though each broadcaster would be able to send either their 2020 representative or a new one. ERT responded that its intention was to continue its cooperation with Stefania for the next contest in 2021. It was also announced that the same team that was responsible for the songwriting and the choreography of the 2020 entry would also be used for the 2021 contest, and that the song would be selected internally. The selected song, "Last Dance", an 80's-pop song, premiered for the first time on 10 March 2021. The entry placed sixth in the second semi-final and qualified to the final, where it finished in 10th place with 170 points.
For 2022, ERT opened a submission period on 7 September 2021 where artists and composers were able to submit up to three songs each for consideration by the broadcaster with a 10 October 2021 deadline. 25 artists were reported to have submitted applications from a total of more than 40 entries, and a seven-member jury panel shortlisted five entrants in late October 2021. On 15 December 2021, the committee selected the Greek-Norwegian artist Amanda Tenfjord with the song "Die Together" to represent the country in Turin. Greece managed to qualify from the first semi-final, placing third, and finished in eighth place in the final with 215 points: 57 points from the televoting and 158 points from the juries. This was the best placement for the nation in the final since its sixth-place finish in 2013. In 2023, Victor Vernicos represented the nation with the song "What They Say". Competing in the second semi-final, Greece did not qualify for the final for the third time in its history. ERT opted again for an internal selection in 2024, announcing Marina Satti as the Greek representative on 24 October 2023. She finished fifth in the semi-final and ultimately came 11th in the final with 126 points. A national final for the 2025 contest took take place on 30 January 2025, where Asteromata by Klavdia was chosen.
Greece is infamous for regularly exchanging 12 points with Cyprus, which was attributed to the two countries' close cultural ties. While Greece and Cyprus did exchange top marks a few times (1987, 1994, and 1997), there were also several years where this did not occur. In 1983, the second time Greece and Cyprus competed together, Greece awarded the Cypriot entry no points for the first and only time. However, between 1997 and 2013, the two countries always gave each other twelve points if presented the opportunity. Due to the controversies caused by political voting, two semi-finals were introduced for the 2008 contest in which Cyprus and Greece were unable to vote for each other in the semi-finals. In the build-up to the 2008 contest, however, the artists representing Greece and Cyprus jointly held a successful warm-up party at the Euroclub, attended by 17 other delegations from the contest and 1500 guests attracted by the promised "confluence of the Greek-Cypriot sound".
In the 21st century, Greece and Cyprus did not exchange top marks for each other in three instances: In 2015, Greece gave Cyprus 10 points and Cyprus gave Greece 8 points, while both countries gave the maximum 12 points to Italy. In 2023, the Greek jury gave 4 points to Cyprus. In 2024, the Greek jury awarded Cyprus 10 points, while the Cypriot jury gave Greece 7 points.
Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the contestants, songwriters, composers and backing vocalists, among others.
For the show's broadcast in Greece, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the local language. At the Eurovision Song Contest after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting country to invite each respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote on-screen.
A five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals is made up for every participating country for the semi-finals and final of the Eurovision Song Contest, ranking all entries except for their own country's contribution. The juries' votes constitute 50% of the overall result alongside televoting. The modern incarnation of jury voting was introduced beginning with the 2009 contest.