Today we celebrate Greece and its independence day in the best way- by reminiscing about the country’s Eurovision journey!
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Greece in Eurovision, with the first participation in 1974 with Marinella and the song ‘Krassi, Thalassa Ke T’agori mou’ (=Wine, Sea and My Boyfriend). During the 20th century Greece wasn’t doing particularly well in the contest, only finishing in the top 5 twice: in 1977 with Paschalis, Marianna, Robert and Bessy and their song ‘Mathema Solfege’ (=Solfege class) and in 1992 with Cleopatra and the song ‘Olou tou kosmou I elpida’ (=All the people’s hope), with both entries finishing 5th.
However the turn of the century brought Greece some good luck. They entered the new century with a 3rd place in 2001 with Antique and the song ‘Die for you’. They went to achieve three 3rd places in total, in 2001, 2004 and 2008. But it wasn’t until 2005 when Greece became the number one country. Helena Paparizou brought the country’s first and only victory (so far) with her song ‘My Number One’, bringing the contest in Athens in 2006.
From 2001 to 2013 Greece finished in top ten 10 out of 13 times, making it one of the most successful countries in the contest. It was the Golden Age of Greece (part 2- the first one was the OG in 480-404 BCE due to Pericles and not Helena). It was when they found their secret combination, bringing some traditional ethnic beats and dances, asking Europe to watch their dance and saying OPA with them.
However from 2014 Greece had entered a dark tunnel. They failed to qualify to the final 3 times (2016, 2018, 2023) and the times they qualified they finished close to the 20th place. However they saw some light in 2021 and 2022 when Stefania and Amanda achieved top 10 positions with their songs ‘Last Dance’ and ‘Die Together’.
Although not qualifying last year, Greece is traveling to Malmo with a mission- to bring back the traditional Greek character mixed with modern rhythms and make the whole globe dance and want to eat souvlaki. What would the dice bring for Marina and Greece this year in Malmo? Let it bring what it needs to bring.
