Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020

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Eurovision Song Contest 2020
CountryFlag of Greece.svg  Greece
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 3 February 2020
Song: 1 March 2020
Selected entrant Stefania
Selected song"Supergirl"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final resultContest cancelled
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2019 •2020• 2021►

Greece planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was scheduled to be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Greek-Dutch singer Stefania was internally selected by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) with the song "Supergirl", written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, Sharon Vaughn, Pavlos Manolis, Anastasios Rammos, Diverno and Gabriel Russell. Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe, the contest was cancelled in mid-March. ERT has stated Stefania will instead represent Greece at the 2021 contest.

Contents

Background

Prior to the 2020 contest, Greece had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty times since their debut in 1974. [1] The nation has won the contest once, in 2005 with the song "My Number One" performed by Helena Paparizou. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Greece managed to qualify for the final with each of their entries for several years. Between 2004 and 2013, the nation achieved nine top ten placements in the final. [2] To this point, Greece in 2016 with Argo's "Utopian Land" failed to qualify from the semi-finals for the first time ever, being absent from the final for the first time since 2000, marking Greece's worst result at the contest. In the 2018 contest, Greece failed to qualify for the second time with Yianna Terzi and the song " Oniro mou " finishing 14th in the semi-final. Greece returned to the final in 2019 with Katerine Duska and the song "Better Love", placing 21st with 74 points. [1]

The Greek national broadcaster, Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), broadcasts the event within Greece and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. ERT had been in charge of Greece's participation in the contest since their debut in 1974 until 2013, when the broadcaster was shut down by a government directive and replaced with the interim Dimosia Tileorasi (DT) and later by the New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT) broadcaster. [3] [4] [5] [6] On 28 April 2015, a legislative proposal that resulted in the renaming of NERIT to ERT was approved and signed into law by the Hellenic Parliament; ERT began broadcasting once again on 11 June 2015. [4] [7] The new ERT then confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on 28 August 2015. [8]

The Greek broadcaster has used various methods to select the nation's entry in the past, such as internal selections and televised national finals to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. In early September 2019, Maria Koufopoulou, ERT's Director of International Relations, confirmed that the country would participate in the 2020 contest. [9] [10] She also stated that they were still evaluating how to select the entry and were in discussions with local fan clubs to solicit ideas. [9] [10]

Before Eurovision

Greek-Dutch performer Stefania was selected as the entrant for Greece. Stefania Liberakakis press photo 2020.jpg
Greek-Dutch performer Stefania was selected as the entrant for Greece.

Internal selection

Similar to 2019, [11] ERT announced that the Greek entry would be selected internally by the broadcaster. On 15 January, it revealed the names of the people who would comprise the jury panel involved with the selection of the entrant. The jury consisted of music composer and ERT board member Dimitris Papadimitriou, music producer Petros Adam, Yiorgos Markakis, music producer Yiannis Petridis, and ERT's Director of International Relations Maria Koufopoulou. [12]

Prior to the official announcement of the performer, Star Channel reported that seven acts had been shortlisted to represent Greece in Rotterdam, including Irini Papadopoulou, Stefania, Ian Stratis, and the boy band One. [13] They reported that the jury would listen to the songs submitted by each act before selecting their preferred entry. On 3 February 2020 during an ERT newscast, Stefania was announced as the Greek entrant with the song "Supergirl". [14] The song was written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, Sharon Vaughn, and the production team Arcade (Pavlos Manolis, Anastasios Rammos, Diverno, Gabriel Russell). [14] Born in the Netherlands to a family with Greek ancestry, Stefania had previously represented the Netherlands at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 as part of the group Kisses, placing eighth. [14] The song and accompanying music video were released the following month on 1 March 2020, during the premiere of ERT's new program Eurovision Song Contest - Final Countdown, hosted by Mihalis Marinos. [15] The music video was directed by Konstantinos Karydas. [2]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was originally scheduled to take place at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands and consist of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and a final on 16 May 2020. [16] According to Eurovision rules, each country, except the host nation and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), would have been required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final would have progressed to the final. [17] [18] [19] On 28 January 2020, the allocation draw was held at Rotterdam City Hall, placing Greece into the first half of the second semi-final. [20] Fokas Evangelinos was hired to organise the staging and choreography for the performance. [2] [14] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the contest was cancelled on 18 March 2020. [21] [22] The EBU announced soon after that entries intended for 2020 would not be eligible for the following year, though each broadcaster would be able to send either their 2020 representative or a new one. [23] ERT responded that its intention was to continue its cooperation with Stefania for the next contest in 2021. [21]

Alternative song contests

Some of the broadcasters scheduled to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 organised alternative competitions. Austria's ORF broadcast Der kleine Song Contest in April 2020, which saw every entry being assigned to one of three semi-finals. A jury consisting of ten singers that had represented Austria at Eurovision before was hired to rank each song; the best-placed entry in each semi-final advanced to the final round. [24] In the third semi-final on 18 April, Greece placed seventh in a field of 13 participants, achieving 51 points. [25] Greece's song also partook in Sveriges Television's Sveriges 12:a in May, [26] and was qualified for the final round, finishing 15th. [27]

Related Research Articles

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, which was held in Athens, Greece following the nation's win at the previous year's contest. The Greek national broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) internally selected Anna Vissi to represent the country. Her song "Everything" was determined on 14 March 2006 during a four-song national final titled Feel the Party. "Everything" was composed by Nikos Karvelas and written by Vissi.

Greece competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, held at the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. The Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) internally selected Sakis Rouvas with the song "Shake It", written by Nikos Terzis and Nektarios Tyrakis, to represent the nation. Prior to Rouvas' selection, the broadcaster had organised a public selection process entitled Eurostar, consisting of live semi-final heats, leading to a three-participant national final to select their entrant. While the event did take place and Apostolos Psichramis was selected as the Greek entrant, the song selection portion did not materialize after the Rouvas announcement and Psichramis instead joined Rouvas as a backing vocalist.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Yassou Maria", written by Alex Papaconstantinou, Marcus Englöf and Markus Sepehrmanesh. The song was performed by Sarbel. To select their entry for the 2007 contest, which took place in Helsinki, Finland, Greek national television broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) organised the national final Eurovision 2007 which took place on 28 February 2007. The event saw three acts—Sarbel, Tamta and Christos Dantis—compete to be the Greek representative.

Greece entered the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Secret Combination", written by Konstantinos Pantzis with lyrics by Poseidonas Giannopoulos. The song was performed by Kalomira, an American singer of Greek descent who had previously won a Greek talent show. In February 2008, as part of Ellinikós Telikós 2008, the selection process organized by the Greek national broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), three competing artists—Chrispa, Kostas Martakis, and Kalomira—performed their prospective entries live during a televised broadcast watched by nearly two million viewers. "Secret Combination" was selected to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest by a combination of a public televote and panel of judges.

Greece competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, held on 24 May 2003 at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia. The Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) organised a public selection process entitled Ena tragoudi gia tin Evropi to determine its entry for the contest. Held on 26 February 2003 in Athens, the event saw 10 songs compete to be the Greek entry; the results were determined by a combination of jury, SMS and televoting. Singer Mando with the song "Never Let You Go" received the most votes and was selected to represent the nation. The song was written by Mando and Terry Siganos.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "This Is Our Night" written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, Craig Porteils and Cameron Giles-Webb and performed by Sakis Rouvas. To select their entry for the 2009 contest, which was held in Moscow, Russia, the Greek national broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) internally selected Rouvas, while his song was chosen through the televised national final Ellinikós Telikós 2009, which consisted of three candidate songs voted upon by the public and a jury.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Opa", written by Giorgos Alkaios, Giannis Antoniou and Friends Music Factory. The song was performed by Alkaios and Friends. To select their entry for the 2010 contest, which took place in Oslo, Norway, Greek national television broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) organised the national final Ellinikós Telikós 2010 which took place on 12 March 2010. The event was initially to include 10 songs, however there was one withdrawal and two disqualifications prior to the night of the competition.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Watch My Dance", written by Giannis Christodoulopoulos and Eleana Vrahali. The song was performed by Loukas Yorkas featuring Stereo Mike. To select their entry for the 2011 contest, which took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, Greek national television broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) organised the national final Ellinikós Telikós 2011 which took place in March 2011. Six competing acts—Antigoni Psihrami, Kokkina Halia, Yorkas, Nikki Ponte, Trimitonio, and Valando Tryfonos—performed their prospective entries live during the televised event, with the winner selected by a combination of a public televote and a panel of judges.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Their selected song "Aphrodisiac" was written by Dimitri Stassos, Mikaela Stenström and Dajana Lööf, and was performed by Eleftheria Eleftheriou, who had previously attempted to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. The entry was selected through the televised national final Ellinikós Telikós, organised by the country's public broadcasting service Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) and held on 12 March 2012 at the River West shopping mall in Athens. Due to the debt crisis facing Greece at the time, the record label of the entry was expected to take on the costs of recording and producing the candidate songs. Universal Music Greece was the only label to accept these terms and put forth four competing acts for consideration. The winning act was selected using a combination of jury and televoting. Following the national final, Eleftheriou embarked on a promotional campaign visiting Turkey and the Netherlands.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Alcohol Is Free", written by Elias Kozas and Stathis Pahidis. The song was performed by the band Koza Mostra featuring Agathonas Iakovidis. The entry for the 2013 contest, which took place in Malmö, Sweden, was selected through a four-participant national final entitled Eurosong 2013 – a MAD show. Due to budget cuts facing the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) at the time, the selection process was a organised by a private music channel, MAD TV.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Utopian Land" written by Vladimiros Sofianidis and performed by the band Argo. The song was internally selected by the Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) to represent Greece at the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Argo were announced as the Greek representatives in February 2016, a month before their song "Utopian Land" was presented.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "This Is Love" written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, Romy Papadea and John Ballard. The song was performed by Demy, who was internally selected by the Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) to represent Greece at the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Demy was announced at the Greek representative on 13 January 2017, while a national final was held in order to select the song she would perform. Three songs competed in the national final on 6 March 2017 and a combination of international jury voting and public voting selected "This Is Love" as the winning song.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Oniro mou" written by Aris Kalimeris, Dimitris Stamatiou, Yianna Terzi and Mihalis Papathanasiou and performed by Terzi. A national final was scheduled to be held in order to select the Greek entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal. Five entries were to compete in the final on 22 February 2018 where public voting would exclusively select the winner, however "Oniro mou" performed by Terzi was announced as the Greek entry on 16 February 2018 following the disqualification of four out of the five national final entries.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Better Love" written by Katerine Duska, Leon of Athens, David Sneddon and Phil Cook. The song was performed by Duska, who was internally selected by the Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) to represent Greece at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. She was announced as the Greek representative on 14 February 2019, while her song "Better Love" was presented on 6 March 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefania (singer)</span> Greek-Dutch singer, voice actress, YouTuber (born 2002)

Stefania Liberakakis, known simply as Stefania, is a Greek-Dutch singer, voice actress and YouTuber. She is a former member of the girl group Kisses, which represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016. In 2020, she was internally selected to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Supergirl", but this edition of the contest was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Greek broadcaster ERT decided that Liberakakis would represent Greece in the 2021 contest, this time with the song "Last Dance", with which she finished in tenth place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supergirl (Stefania song)</span> 2020 single by Stefania

"Supergirl" is a song recorded by Greek-Dutch singer Stefania, digitally released on 1 March 2020. It was written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, lyricist Sharon Vaughn, and production team Arcade. The song was intended to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 before the event's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stefania had been internally selected as the country's representative by Greek public broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT).

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Greek-Dutch singer Stefania was internally selected by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) to represent the nation with the song "Last Dance", written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, Arcade, and Sharon Vaughn. Stefania was due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Supergirl" before that event's eventual cancellation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last Dance (Stefania song)</span> 2021 single by Stefania Liberakakis

"Last Dance" is a song recorded by Greek-Dutch singer Stefania, digitally released on 10 March 2021. It was written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, songwriting team Arcade and Sharon Vaughn. The song represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Stefania was once again selected as the country's representative by the Greek public broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), after the cancellation of the previous edition.

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy. The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) internally selected Amanda Tenfjord to represent the nation with the song "Die Together", written by Tenfjord and Bjørn Helge Gammelsæter. Tenfjord was announced as the Greek representative on 15 December 2021, with her song later presented to the public on 10 March 2022.

Fokas Evangelinos is a Greek dancer, choreographer and artistic director for television, film, stage and video clips. He was the creative director of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 held in Athens and he has also staged and choreographed some of the most memorable performances at the Eurovision Song Contest from different countries.

References

  1. 1 2 "Countries – Greece". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Jiandani, Sanjay (20 February 2020). "Greece: Stefania will premiere her Eurovision entry 'Superg!rl' on 1 March". ESCToday. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Savaricas, Nathalie (11 July 2013). "Greece's state-run TV service resumes with a blast from the past". independent.co.uk. The Independent . Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 Maltezou, Renee (28 April 2015). "In symbolic move, Greece to reopen shuttered state broadcaster". reuters.com. Reuters . Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Paravantes, Maria (11 June 2005). "Joy In Greece Over Eurovision Win". Billboard . Vol. 117, no. 24. p. 17. Retrieved 16 January 2009– via Google Books.
  6. ↑ Floras, Stella (11 June 2013). "Greece shuts down public broadcaster ERT". ESCToday. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  7. ↑ "Greece's state broadcaster ERT back on air after two years". bbc.com. BBC News. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Συμφωνία ΕΡΤ - Forthnet για τα στιγμιότυπα της Super League". enimerosi24.gr (in Greek). Enimerosi24. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  9. 1 2 Farran, Neil (6 September 2019). "Greece; Eurovision 2020 Participation Confirmed". Eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  10. 1 2 Daniil, Ioannis (6 September 2019). "ΕΛΛΑΔΑ: Παρούσα στη Eurovision 2020!" (in Greek). OGAE Greece. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  11. ↑ Agadellis, Stratos (14 February 2019). "Greece: Katerine Duska to Tel Aviv!". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  12. ↑ Fotopoulos, Akis (15 January 2020). "Eurovision 2020: Οι υποψηφιότητες, η επιτροπή της ΕΡΤ και το μεγάλο φαβορί" (in Greek). Ethnos. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  13. ↑ "Τα δύο πιθανά ονόματα για την ελληνική εκπροσώπηση στη Eurovision 2020" (in Greek). Star Channel. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Gallagher, Robyn (3 February 2020). "Confirmed! Stefania will represent Greece at Eurovision 2020 with the song "SUPERG!RL"". Wiwibloggs . Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Eurovision 2020: Αυτό είναι το Supergirl από τη Stefania για την Ελλάδα". Zappit.gr (in Greek). Zappit. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  16. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest Rotterdam 2020". European Broadcasting Union. 2020. Archived from the original on 6 March 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  17. ↑ "Rules – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  18. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2020 – First Semi-Final". European Broadcasting Union. 2020. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  19. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2020 – Second Semi-Final". European Broadcasting Union. 2020. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  20. ↑ Groot, Evert (28 January 2020). "Which country performs in which Eurovision 2020 Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union . Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  21. 1 2 "Ματαιώθηκε από την EBU η διεξαγωγή της Eurovision 2020". ert.gr (in Greek). Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  22. ↑ "Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam is cancelled". European Broadcasting Union. 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  23. ↑ "Intention to honour Eurovision 2020 songs and artists". European Broadcasting Union. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  24. ↑ "Mr. Song Contest proudly presents – Der kleine Song Contest am 14., 16. und 18. April in ORF 1" (in German). ORF. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  25. ↑ Wilson, Katie (19 April 2020). "Der kleine Song Contest: Austrian public choose Iceland's Daði & Gagnamagnið as their favourite Eurovision 2020 act". Wiwibloggs . Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  26. ↑ Dahlander, Gustav (3 April 2020). "Klart för Eurovision-vecka i SVT" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  27. ↑ Ek, Torbjörn (11 May 2020). "De röstades vidare i svenska Eurovision-tävlingen" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet . Retrieved 4 June 2020.
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