Eurovision 2008 - Greece

Secret combination
Kalomoira

Music: Konstantinos Pantzis
Lyrics: Poseidonas Giannopoulou


History (1956 to 2007):

Greece's previous appearances: 28 year(s) out of 52
Years participated: 1974; 1976-1981; 1983; 1985; 1987-1998; 2001-
Best result: 1st (2005)

Prior to the '00s, Greece had enjoyed a less than glorious record in Eurovision, never finishing higher than 5th between 1974 and 1998. After ending up a lowly 20th in 1998, the country missed the 1999 Contest through relegation, and declined to take part in 2000. However, since 2001, Greece has taken advantage of the free language rule to perform in English, at the same time as sending some of its most bankable stars to Eurovision. This seems to have done the trick, as with one or two exceptions, the last five years have seen a string of impressive Greek results.

Hopes were high in 2001, with Antique's song 'Die for you' one of the favourites prior to the Contest. In the end, it was never a real contender for victory in the final voting, but Antique's performance nevertheless provided Greece with an impressive 3rd place - up to then its best ever result. Unfortunately, the momentum was not maintained in 2002, with the ridiculous 'S'Agapo' finishing 17th (out of 24) - probably higher than it deserved. After the contest, Mihálís blamed sound problems for the poor result, though most viewers thought the song scored badly because it was rubbish.

2003 saw high expectations for Mando, an established and popular artist in Greece and beyond, with her song 'Never let you go'. Sadly, Mando went for the dominatrix vote with a face and outfit borrowed from Cher, and the song scored even fewer points than Mihálís the year before. However, seeking an uplift in their fortunes, the Greeks pulled out all the stops in 2004, combining one of the country's most popular stars - Sakis Rouvas - with a song written by Nikos Terzis, the composer of 'Die for you'. It very nearly worked - the clear favourite prior to the Contest, Sakis and 'Shake it' scored an impressive 252 points in the Final, and achieved the rare feat of gaining points from every other country, including five 12s. In the end, however, it was only enough to secure an Antique-equalling 3rd place, easily securing the Greeks' direct entry to the 2005 Final, but falling short of the elusive first victory that they had so craved.

After the disappointment of Sakis finishing so near yet so far, the Greeks could have been forgiven for coming back with a lacklustre Mihálís-style effort, but if anything, their second 3rd place in four years seemed to make them even more determined to win. The country got off to a good start by enlisting Helena Paparizou - half of the duo Antique, who secured 2001's 3rd place - in its bid for Eurovision glory, going on to select a strong and contemporary song in the shape of 'My number one'. It proved an irresistible combination - the runaway favourite prior to the Contest, Helena's decisive victory surprised neither the fans nor the bookmakers, finally bringing victory to Greece after 26 attempts. Her tally of 230 points, while notably lower than the total amassed by Sakis a year earlier, was 38 more than second-placed Malta, and included the maximum 'douze points' from countries as diverse as Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and the United Kingdom. As a result, Greece obviously finds itself directly qualified for the 2006 Final, but the country will surely need a killer song from a great performer if it is to maintain the level of success that it has attained in recent years.

In 2006 Greece was represented by Anna Vissi, and in 2007 by Sarbel.


This year's entry:





My opinion & prediction:


I could caracterise this entry as being lower than ,,My number one” and ,,Shake it”, but better than ,,Yassou Maria” and ,,Everything I am”. It’s a great song; the beats seem like the ones from ,,Give it to me” (Nelly Furtado, Timbaland & Justin Timberlake).

My prediction for the Semi Final: 2nd to 4th
My prediction for the Final: Definite qualifier; 2nd to 4th