ERT, the Greek national broadcaster, has announced changes to its national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
The national final will now take place on February 22, rather than February 16. The three competing songs will be released to the public on February 12 on the official ERT website. All songs will be performed live, rather than being presented in videoclips during the national final. The result will still be decided by 100% public voting.
Each of the record companies behind the competing songs will be required to sign a letter of obligation to the Greek broadcaster to confirm that they will cover their own costs in the event that their entry is selected to represent Greece in Eurovision 2018. The total amount payable by each record company was set at €90,000 during the last meeting held by ERT. There was a considerable reaction to this by the record companies.
ERT will only cover the costs of their own staff’s involvement in the participation in Lisbon. ERT’s participation in Eurovision in the past has been criticised as a “waste of money.”
The three finalists in the selection are:
- Areti Ketime – Min ksehnas ton ilio (Don’t Forget the Sun)
- Chorostalites – Apo tin Thraki os tin Kriti (From Thrace to Crete)
- Gianna Terzi – To oniro mou (My Dream)
Greece was represented by Demy at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. With her song “This Is Love”, she placed 19th in the Grand Final with 77 points.
Source: INFE Greece
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
Greece debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, when they were represented by Marinella and the song “Krasi, thalassa kai t’agori mou” which finished in 11th place with 7 points. Three years later Greece earned their first top 5 finish with Paschalis, Marianna, Robert and Bessy who finished in 5th place with “Mathima solfege”. In 2001 Greece achieved their first top 3 result with Antique and the song “I Would Die For You”. The song became a European hit, and charted across the continent. In 2005 Helena Paparizou returned to the Eurovision stage as a solo artist and brought Greece their first, and to date only, victory. Her song “My Number One” won with 230 points, beating runners-up Malta by 38 points.
Why was ERT’s past Eurovision participation considered a waste of money? I don’t get it. 😮
I sure hope this year’s national Final from Greece is better than last year’s “faux” Final where, as I understand it, Demy did not even perform her entries live. At least I never saw videos of her performing them live; I only saw the video where the announcement of the selected entry was made live.
Demy released a Greek version of “Angels” yesterday, by the way. It is called “Kontra Sto Xrono”.