Greece in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Greece in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Participating broadcaster	Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi (ERT)
Participation summary
Appearances	6
First appearance	2003
Last appearance	2008
Highest placement	6th: 2005
Participation history 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 –2024
External links
Greece's page at JuniorEurovision.tv

Greece has been represented at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest six times, entering at the first contest in 2003. The Greek participating broadcaster in the contest is Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi (ERT). Its first entry was "Fili gia panta" by eight-year-old Nicolas Ganopoulos, which came eighth. Its best entry was in 2005 when "Tora einai i seira mas" by Alexandros and Kalli placed sixth, while its worst result was in 2007, when "Made in Greece" placed 17th (last) with 14 points. ERT has not taken part in the contest since 2008.

History

Greece opted to be one of the 16 nations to take part in the inaugural edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and participated in six consecutive contests. 2008 marked their last appearance, with the Greek national broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) announcing that relatively low television ratings for the contest and an objection to using children were factors in the decision. ^[1] ERT officially opted out of the contest in April 2009 in a press release that cited the economic crisis at the time as an additional factor. ^[2]

In January 2014, it was reported that New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT) was interested in taking part, taking over from defunct broadcaster ERT. ^{[3] [4]} However, it was later confirmed that Greece would continue its absence from the competition. ^[5] In June 2020, it was reported that ERT was seriously considering returning to the contest in 2020; ^[6] however, weeks later, the broadcaster had decided against its return. ^[7]

Participation overview

Table key

◁	Last place

Year	Artist	Song	Language	Place	Points
2003	Nicolas Ganopoulos	"Fili gia panta" (Φίλοι για πάντα)	Greek	8	53
2004	Secret Band	"O palios mou eaftos" (Ο παλιός μου εαυτός)	Greek	9	48
2005	Alexandros and Kalli	"Tora einai i seira mas" (Tώρα είναι η σειρά μας)	Greek	6	88
2006	Chloe Sofia Boleti	"Den peirazei" (Δεν πειράζει)	Greek	13	35
2007	Made In Greece	"Kapou berdeftika" (Κάπου μπερδεύτηκα)	Greek	17 ◁	14
2008	Niki Yannouchou	"Kapoia nychta" (Κάποια νύχτα)	Greek	14	19

Commentators and spokespersons

The contests are broadcast online worldwide through the official Junior Eurovision Song Contest website junioreurovision.tv and YouTube. In 2015, the online broadcasts featured commentary in English by junioreurovision.tv editor Luke Fisher and 2011 Bulgarian Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrant Ivan Ivanov. ^[8] The Greek broadcaster, ERT, sent their own commentators to each contest in order to provide commentary in the Greek language. Spokespersons were also chosen by the national broadcaster in order to announce the awarding points from Greece. The table below list the details of each commentator and spokesperson since 2003.

Year(s)	Commentator	Spokesperson	Ref.
2003	Masa Fasoula and Nikos Frantseskakis	Chloe Sofia Boleti	[9]
2004	Unknown	Kalli Georgelli	[10]
2005		George Koutsogiannis
2006	Renia Tsitsibikou and George Amyras	Alexandros Chountas	[10]
2007	Marion Mihelidaki	Chloe Sofia Boleti
2008	Renia Tsitsibikou and George Amyras	Stefani Trepekli
2009–2012	No broadcast	Did not participate
2013	Unknown		[11]
2014–2024	No broadcast

See also

• Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest

References

1. Andrikopoulou, Natalia (13 October 2008). "Θέλουν να… ξεφορτωθούν τη Eurovision Junior". Eleftheros Typos (in Greek). Retrieved 4 December 2008.
2. Anadioti, Eva (24 April 2009). "ERT officially out of Junior Eurovision 2009". Oikotimes.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
3. García, Belén (22 May 2014). "Junior Eurovision: Greece will be back!". Esc-plus.com. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
4. Granger, Anthony (22 May 2014). "Greece Junior Eurovision return confirmed". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
5. Granger, Anthony (7 July 2014). "Greece: Will Not Participate In JESC 2014". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
6. Granger, Anthony (15 June 2020). "Greece: ERT Considering Return to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovoix.com.
7. Granger, Anthony (27 June 2020). "Greece: ERT Decides Against Return to Junior Eurovision in 2020". Eurovoix.com.
8. Fisher, Luke James (21 November 2015). "Tonight: Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015!". Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Bulgaria 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
9. Zouboulakis, I. (1 November 2003). "Επιλογές / 21:00, ET1 "Eurovision Junior"" [TV choices / 21:00, ET1 "Eurovision Junior"]. To Vima (in Greek). p. 49.
10. Mantzilas, Dimitrios (13 November 2020). "Η Ελλάδα στη Junior Eurovision. Οι εθνικοί τελικοί και μερικά trivia" (in Greek). INFE Greece. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
11. Fisher, Luke James (21 November 2013). "Three more countries to carry 2013 event". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 23 November 2013.