Greece debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 and took their first victory in 2005, the country has also participated in numerous other Eurovision formats.
Greece in Eurovision
Greece debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, United Kingdom in 1974. The country has participated in the contest for over 50 years, only missing a handful of editions in that time. Greece’s results in the the contest are:
- 1974 – Marinella – “Krassi, thalassa ke t’ agori mou” – 11th – 7 points
- 1976 – Mariza Koch – “Panaghia mou, panaghia mou” – 13th – 20 points
- 1977 – Paschalis, Marianna, Robert and Bessy – “Mathema solfege” – 5th – 92 points
- 1978 – Tania Tsanaklidou – “Charlie Chaplin” – 8th – 66 points
- 1979 – Elpida – “Socrates” – 8th – 69 points
- 1980 – Anna Vissi and the Epikouri – “Autostop” – 13th – 30 points
- 1981 – Yiannis Dimitras – “Feggari kalokerino” – 8th – 55 points
- 1982 – Themis Adamantidis – “Sarantapente kopelies” – Withdrawn
- 1983 – Christie – “Mou les” – 14th – 32 points
- 1985 – Takis Biniaris – “Miazoume” – 16th – 15 points
- 1986 – Polina – “Wagon-lit” – Withdrawn
- 1987 – Bang – “Stop” – 10th – 64 points
- 1988 – Afroditi Fryda – “Clown” – 17th – 10 points
- 1989 – Marianna – “To diko sou asteri” – 9th – 56 points
- 1990 – Christos Callow – “Horis skopo” – 19th – 11 points
- 1991 – Sophia Vossou – “Anixi” – 13th – 36 points
- 1992 – Cleopatra – “Olou tou kosmou i elpida” – 5th – 94 points
- 1993 – Katerina Garbi – “Ellada, hora tou fotos” – 9th – 64 points
- 1994 – Kostas Bigalis and the Sea Lovers – “To trehantiri (Diri Diri)” – 14th – 44 points
- 1995 – Elina Konstantopoulou – “Pia prosefhi” – 12th – 68 points
- 1996 – Marianna Efstratiou – “Emis forame to himona anixiatika” – 14th – 36 points
- 1997 – Marianna Zorba – “Horepse” – 12th – 39 points
- 1998 – Thalassa – “Mia krifi evaisthisia” – 20th – 12 points
- 2001 – Antique – “Die for You” – 3rd – 147 points
- 2002 – Michalis Rakintzis – “S.A.G.A.P.O” – 17th – 27 points
- 2003 – Mando – “Never Let You Go” – 17th – 25 points
- 2004 – Sakis Rouvas – “Shake It” – 3rd – 252 points
- 2005 – Helena Paparizou – “My Number One” – 1st – 230 points
- 2006 – Anna Vissi – “Everything” – 9th – 128 points
- 2007 – Sarbel – “Yassou Maria” – 7th – 139 points
- 2008 – Kalomira – “Secret Combination” – 3rd – 218 points
- 2009 – Sakis Rouvas – “This Is Our Night” – 7th – 120 points
- 2010 – Giorgos Alkaio and Friends – “Opa” – 8th – 140 points
- 2011 – Loukas Yorkas feat. Stereo Mike – “Watch My Dance” – 7th – 120 points
- 2012 – Eleftheria Eleftheriou – “Aphrodisiac” – 17th – 64 points
- 2013 – Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis – “Alcohol Is Free” – 6th – 152 points
- 2014 – Freaky Fortune feat. RiskyKidd – “Rise Up” – 20th – 35 points
- 2015 – Maria Elena Kyriakou – “One Last Breath” – 19th – 23 points
- 2016 – Argo – “Utopian Land” – 16th in the Semi-Final – 44 points
- 2017 – Demy – “This Is Love” – 19th – 77 points
- 2018 – Yianna Terzi – “Onirou Mou” – 14th in the Semi-Final – 81 points
- 2019 – Katerine Duska – “Better Love” – 21st – 74 points
- 2020 – Stefania – “Supergirl” – Contest cancelled due to COVID-19
- 2021 – Stefania – “Last Dance” – 10th – 170 points
- 2022 – Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – “Die Together” – 8th – 215 points
- 2023 – Victor Vernicos – “What They Say” – 13th in the Semi-Final – 14 points
- 2024 – Marina Satti – “Zari” – 11th – 126 points
- 2025 – Kavdia – “Asteromata” – 6th – 231 points
- 2026 – Akylas – “Ferto” – 10th – 220 points
Greece and other Eurovision family events
Greece has participated in numerous Eurovision family events and took victory in Eurovision Young Musicians in 2008, their first victory in a Eurovision cultural competition.
Eurovision Dance Contest
Greece participated in both editions of the Eurovision Dance Contest in 2007 and 2008. In 2007 ERT of Greece did not air the show live due to forest fires, with a jury voting instead of the Greek public. Greece’s results were:
- 2007 – Ourania Kolliou and Spiros Pavlidis – 13th – 31 points
- 2008 – Jason Roditis and Tonia Kosovich – 7th – 72 points
Eurovision Young Dancers
Greece made its debut in Eurovision Young Dancers in 1993 and participated in eight editions of the contest. Greece participated in every edition of the competition until 2011, after the 2011 contest ERT withdrew.
- 1993 – Theodora Bourbou – Did not qualify for the final
- 1995 – Franghiskos Toumbakaris
- 1997 – Nefeli Markaki – Did not qualify for the final
- 1999 – Maria Boubouli
- 2001 – Olga Tsimourta and Tina Nassika
- 2003 – Elenina Nicolaou – 6th in the Classical category – 716 points
- 2005 – Eleana Andreoudi
- 2011 – Spiridoula Magouritsa – Did not qualify for the final
Eurovision Young Musicians
Greece debuted in Eurovision Young Musicians in 1990 and took victory in the contest in 2008. Greece has participated intermittently in the contest since its first participation.
- 1990 – Jánnisz Tszitszelíkisz (Cello) – Did not qualify for the final
- 1994 – Antonios Sousamoglou (Violin) – Did not qualify for the final
- 1996 – Angelo Liakakis (Cello) – Did not qualify for the final
- 1998 – Participant unknown – Did not qualify for the final
- 2000 – Theodorou Andreas-Polandos (Trombone) – Did not qualify for the final
- 2002 – Theodore Milkov (Percussion)
- 2004 – Joánna Gaitáni (Violin) – Did not qualify for the final
- 2006 – Jónian-Ilia Kadesa (Violin) – Did not qualify for the final
- 2008 – Dionysios Grammenos (Clarinet) – 1st
- 2010 – Konstantinos Destounis (Piano) – Did not qualify for the final
- 2012 – Zacharias Fotis (Clarinet) – Did not qualify for the final
- 2014 – Vassilis Digos (Guitar)
- 2018 – Thanos Tzanetakis (Guitar) – Did not qualify for the final
- 2020 – Was due to compete but the contest was cancelled due to COVID-19
Jeux sans frontières
Jeux sans frontières was organised by the European Broadcasting Union between 1965 and 1999, with thirty editions of the show held. The show saw broadcasters send teams to compete in a series of games, each broadcaster hosted one episode. Greece participated in seven series from 1993 to 1993, it was also among the broadcasters that signed up for a new series in 2007, however the 2007 reboot fell through.
Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Greece was one of the sixteen countries to participate in the first edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2003. The country participated annually up to the 2008 contest in Cyprus before withdrawing. Greece was the first country to perform at Junior Eurovision, with Greece opening the 2003 contest.
- 2003 – Nicolas Ganopoulos – “Fili gia panta” – 8th – 53 points
- 2004 – Secret Band – “O palios mou eaftos” – 9th – 48 points
- 2005 – Alexandros and Kalli – “Tora einai i seira mas” – 6th – 88 points
- 2006 – Chloe Sofia Boleti – “Den peirazei” – 13th – 35 points
- 2007 – Made In Greece – “Kapou berdeftika” – 17th – 14 points
- 2008 – Niki Yannouchou – “Kapoia nychta” – 14th – 19 points
While not competing in the 2013 contest, the Greek broadcaster aired the contest from Kyiv, Ukraine.
Other Programs
The following shows were also broadcast in Greece:
- Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest – 2005
- Eurovision Song Contest’s Greatest Hits – 2015
- Eurovision Europe Shine a Light – 2020
During the history of the Eurovision Song Contest and Eurovision family of events over fifty countries have competed, but there are more countries eligible or interested in participating. Find out more here.
Image Source: Eurovision.tv – Andres Putting