Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria. Maria Elena Kyriakou was chosen to represent Greece in the 2015 contest with the song "One Last Breath".
Prior to the 2015 contest, Greece had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-six times since its first entry in 1974,[1] winning it in 2005 with the song "My Number One" performed by Elena Paparizou,[2] and having placed third three times: in 2001 with the song "Die for You" performed by the duo Antique; in 2004 with "Shake It" performed by Sakis Rouvas; and in 2008 with "Secret Combination" performed by Kalomoira. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Greece has had a top ten placing every year except 2012 and 2014. Its least successful result was in 1998 when it placed twentieth with the song "Mia Krifi Evesthisia" by Thalassa, receiving only twelve points in total, all from Cyprus and in 2014 with the song "Rise Up" by Freaky Fortune feat. RiskyKidd, with 35 points, but this time Cyprus was out of the contest.[3]
The Greek national broadcaster, Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), was in charge of Greece's participation each year, including the selection process for its entry.[4][5] Although its selection techniques have varied over the decades, the most common has been a national final in which various acts compete against each other with pre-selected songs, voted on by a jury, televoters, or both. In most cases, internal selections have been reserved for high-profile acts, with the song either being selected internally or with multiple songs—by one or multiple composers—performed by the artist during a televised final. One of the more unusual methods was a reality television talent competition format inspired by the Idol series that ran for many months in 2004, ultimately being scrapped. The notability of the participants has also varied, from previously unsigned acts to established music superstars. Since the 2010s, ERT has used national finals with generally less-established acts.
In August 2013, the Greek government shut down the radio and TV services of the state broadcaster ERT, leaving Greece's future contest participation in question.[6]
Greece was allowed to participate in 2014 contest, with the interim channel DT organising the national final. On 4 May 2014 the new Greek broadcaster, NERIT, was launched, just 2 days before the first semi final.
On 24 July 2014 Greece confirmed their participation in the 2015 contest.[7] In September there were rumours that Greece could not participate in the contest because NERIT wasn't yet a member of the EBU. Those rumours were later confirmed by EBU. NERIT had submitted an application for Active EBU Membership, which is a requirement in order to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. The application was reviewed at the EBU General Assembly in December 2014. On 5 December 2014 it was confirmed that NERIT was a member of the EBU.[8]
Before Eurovision[]
Eurosong 2015 – NERIT & MAD show (60 years of music)[]
Eurosong 2015 – NERIT & MAD show (60 years of music) was the Greek national final developed by NERIT to select the Greek entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. Organized and produced by private music channel MAD TV, the competition took place on 4 March 2015 at the Enastron Music Hall in Tavros, Athens, hosted by Mary Sinatsaki and Ntoretta Papadimitriou.[9] The show was televised on NERIT, in Cyprus via the channels RIK 2 and RIK Sat as well as online via the NERIT website and the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.[10]
Competing entries[]
Five artists, all signed to record labels, were invited by NERIT to participate in the national final. The five acts: Barrice, C：Real, Maria Elena Kyriakou, Shaya Hansen and Thomai Apergi & Legend were announced on 17 February 2015.[11] Preview videos of the competing songs were presented on 26 February 2015 during a press conference.[12]
The final took place on 4 March 2015. Five songs competed and the winner, "One Last Breath" performed by Maria Elena Kyriakou, was selected by a 50/50 combination of public voting and jury voting. Public voting was conducted through telephone or SMS, with 33,672 votes being cast during the show.[13]
All countries except the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), guest-country Australia, and the host country Austria, are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[14] On 26 January 2015, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Greece was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 19 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[15] In the first semifinal, the producers of the show decided that Greece would perform 6th, following Finland and preceding Estonia.[16]
Greece
Moldova
Armenia
Belgium
Netherlands
Finland
Estonia
Macedonia
Serbia
Hungary
Belarus
Russia
Denmark
Albania
Romania
Georgia
Slovenia
France
Israel
United Kingdom
Lithuania
Norway
Sweden
Cyprus
Australia
Austria
Montenegro
Germany
Poland
Latvia
Spain
Azerbaijan
Italy