The 12th artist in our Who Is series for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is Akylas from Greece.
Akylas Mytilinaios, better known simply as Akylas, was born on February 11, 1999 in Serres in northern Greece. After dropping out of school, he moved to Thessaloniki, where he graduated from culinary school and worked in restaurants. He also worked as a cruise ship singer for two years before moving to Athens.
In 2021, Akylas began posting cover versions to TikTok and quickly gained popularity. He released his debut single “Fthinokraso” later that year.
In 2022, Akylas participated in the eighth season of The Voice of Greece. He reached the live shows before being eliminated.
Akylas was chosen to represent Greece at Eurovision 2026 after winning Sing for Greece 2026. He won the international jury, Greek jury and public votes.
The song that Akylas will perform in Vienna is called “Ferto” (Bring it). It was written and composed by Orfeas Nonis, Theofilos Pouzbouris, Thomas Papathanasis and Akylas himself. Pouzbouris previously represented Greece in Eurovision 2014 as part of Freaky Fortune.
Akylas will perform in the first half of the first semi-final on May 12.
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 placing 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.
