Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
| Greece | |
|---|---|
| |
| Participating broadcaster | ERT |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 32 |
| First appearance | 1974 |
| Highest placement | 1st: 2005 |
| External links | |
| ERT page | |
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Greece has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 32 times since 1974, with the exception of 1975, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1999 and 2000. Greece won for the first time in 2005 with "My Number One" song by Elena Paparizou. Following the introduction of a semi-final round for the 2004 contest, Greece has had a top ten placing every year. The Greek national broadcaster, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT) broadcasts the event in Greece each year and organizes the process for the selection of the Greek entry.[1]
History
After debuting in the 1974 Contest, Greece did not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 for "unknown reasons" according to the EBU, but it was discovered that the withdrawal was in protest of Turkey's debut and its invasion of Cyprus in 1974.[2][3] Greece was disqualified from the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 after it was revealed that Themis Adamantidis was to sing "Sarantapente Kopelies" (Σαρανταπέντε Κοπελιές), a previously released song. A known Greek folk song had been revised for the competition, but it violated the rules since all songs have 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.[4] Had Adamantidis been allowed to perform "Sarantapente Kopelies", he would have appeared second at Harrogate.[5] After returning in 1983, ERT decided that all of the possible songs were of "low quality" and decided not to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984.
Greece returned once again to the Contest in 1985, and Polina was picked in the 1986 national selection to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 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,[6] 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.[6] Had she performed, she would have appeared eighteenth and she would have performed the song "Wagon-lit".[6][7]
Greece returned to the Contest in 1987 and performed each year until the Eurovision Song Contest 1999, when it as not permitted to participate because 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 due to financial reasons.
Thirty-one years after its debut, Greece won for the first time in 2005 with Elena Paparizou singing "My Number One", which tied for the record for the most number of twelve points allocated to a song (ten in total) along with Katrina and the Waves' 1997 "Love Shine A Light". The song also made Greece the first country not a member of Big Four to win the contest without going through a semifinal. After Eurovision, the song topped the charts in Greece, Cyprus and Sweden, and entered the top ten in Romania, The Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium and even the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart. In 2005, Eurovision held a commemorative program, Congratulations, to celebrate 50 years of the contest, in which "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).
Before Greece's win, the highest score was third place, achieved by duo Antique (of which Elena Paparizou was a member) in 2001 with "Die for You" and then again by Sakis Rouvas in 2004 with "Shake It". Greece's least successful result was at 20th place in 1998 with the song "Mia Krifi Evesthisia" (English, "A Hidden Sensibility") by Thalassa, which received 12 points in total, all from Cyprus.
In 2006, the 51st Eurovision Song Contest was held in Athens, Greece, following Elena Paparizou's victory the previous year. The two hosts were popular singer, and former contestant, Sakis Rouvas and Greek American presenter Maria Menounos. The singer representing Greece in their own country was popular Greek Cypriot artist Anna Vissi.
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.[8]
Voting
"Cyprus and Greece are commonly accused of favouring each other and of all the countries, statistics suggest they are the most likely to vote for each other. Wogan seemed to sum it up when Cyprus awarded Greece 12 points in last year's contest. 'Over the years people say this is ludicrous [...] but still they do it. They just don't care.' "
Ruth Alexander, "The maths of Eurovision voting", BBC News[9]
Greece is famous for, especially in recent years, always giving twelve points to Cyprus and always receiving twelve points from Cyprus. This is one of many examples of the block voting seen in contest which also occurs between Balkan, Scandinavian, ex-Soviet and Baltic countries. In the case of Greece and Cyprus, the exchange of twelve points is probably because the majority of Cypriot citizens are Greeks thus sharing linguistic ties (speaking Greek) and musical taste. Furthermore, Greece and Cyprus share the same music industry. 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.[10] 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".[11]
Greece has been the most successful country of the Eurovision Song Contest after the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004. They have reached a top-ten position every year since then:[12] third in 2004, first in 2005, ninth in 2006, seventh in 2007, third in 2008, seventh in 2009, eighth in 2010 and seventh in 2011.
Popularity of the Contest
Until 2001, Greece was seen as one of the least successful countries in the Contest, and therefore the interest of Greek people in the Contest was relatively low. Since Antique's third place in 2001, the contest has grown into one of the most popular events in Greece with an estimated five million viewers each year. The extremely high expectations of the Greek public has led to seeing the Contest as a "national affair" of very big importance, and this has caused controversy. The Greek viewers expect their singers to qualify from the semi-final to the final and place inside the Top 10, and so far Greece has not missed any finals and always placed in the Top 10 since the introduction of semifinals in 2004.[13] They are also the second most successful country, behind Russia, in the contest between 2000 and 2009, with one win and three third places.
Contestants
The following table lists the thirty-two entries which competed for Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest. Gold indicates a first place finish, silver a second place finish, and bronze a third place finish.
Voting history (1976–2011)
Greece has given the most points to...
| Rank | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cyprus
|
201 |
| 2 |  Spain
|
137 |
| 3 |  France
|
126 |
| 4 |  Ireland
|
99 |
| 5 |  United Kingdom
|
84 |
Greece has received the most points from...
| Rank | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cyprus
|
268 |
| 2 | Spain
|
125 |
| 3 | United Kingdom
|
110 |
| 4 |  Germany
|
97 |
| 5 | France
|
94 |
NOTE: The totals in the above tables include only points awarded in Eurovision finals, and not the semi-finals since 2004.
Hostings
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 |  Athens
|
Olympic Indoor Hall | Maria Menounos and Sakis Rouvas |
Press Award
| Year | Song | Performer | Final Result | Points | Host city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Elena Paparizou | "My Number One" | 1st | 230 | Kiev |
Commentators
 |
| Year(s) | Commentators |
|---|---|
| 1971-1986 | Mako Georgiadou |
| 1987-1997 | Dafni Bokota |
| 1998 | Giorgos Mitropoulos |
| 1999-2004 | Dafni Bokota |
| 2005 | Alexandra Pascalidou |
| 2006 | Giorgos Kapoutzidis Zeta Makrypoulia |
| 2007 | Maria Bakodimou Fotis Sergoulopoulos |
| 2008-2009 | Maggira Sisters |
| 2010 | Rika Vagiani |
| 2011-2012 | Maria Kozakou |
| Artist | Title | Place | Points | Year | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elena Paparizou | "My Number One" | 4 | 245 | 2005 | 1 | 230 |
References
- ^ Paravantes, Maria. (2005-06-11). Joy In Greece Over Eurovision Win. Billboard 117(24), 17-17. Retrieved on 2009-01-16.
- ^ "EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 1975" (in Greek). OGAE Greece. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Raycoff, Ivan (July 2007). A Song for Europe. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 9780754658788.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Konstantopoulos, Fotis (2005-02-03). "Greek, Cypriot and Lebanese news". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ TV.com - Eurovision 1982
- ^ a b c "Polina Biography" (in Greek). Retrieved 2008-08-24.
- ^ ""Wagon-lit" single - 1986". Sony Music. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ ERT Staff (2008-07-16). "Ο Σάκης Ρουβάς και πάλι στη EUROVISION" (in Greek). ERT. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) [dead link] - ^ Alexander, Ruth (2008-05-19). "The maths of Eurovision voting". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Osborn, Michael (2008-05-20). "Sweden tipped to win Eurovision". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Floras, Stella (2008-05-17). "Greece-Cyprus party hugely successful". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Osborn, Michael (2008-05-25). "Eurovision vote 2008: Top 10". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Klier, Marcus (2009-03-30). "Introducing the 2009 entries: Greece". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
External links
- Points to and from Greece eurovisioncovers.co.uk