Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

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Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Country Greece
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 9 February 2016
Song: 10 March 2016
Selected entrantArgo
Selected song"Utopian Land"
Selected songwriter(s)Vladimiros Sofianidis
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (16th)
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2015 • 2016 • 2017►

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Utopian Land" written by Vladimiros Sofianidis. The song was performed by the band Argo, which 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 on 9 February 2016, while their song "Utopian Land" was presented on 10 March 2016.

Greece was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2016. Performing during the show in position 2, "Utopian Land" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. This marked the first time that Greece failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004. It was later revealed that Greece placed sixteenth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 44 points.

Background[]

Main article: Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2016 contest, Greece had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-six times since their debut in 1974.[1] The nation has won the contest on one occasion in 2005 with the song "My Number One" performed by Helena Paparizou. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Greece has managed to thus far qualify to the final with each of their entries. Between 2004 and 2011, the nation achieved eight consecutive top ten placements in the final. To this point, Greece's least successful result in the final was twentieth place, which they achieved in 1998 with the song "Mia Krifi Evesthisia" by Thalassa and in 2014 with the song "Rise Up" by Freaky Fortune and RiskyKidd. In 2015, Greece placed nineteenth in the final with the song "One Last Breath" performed by Maria Elena Kyriakou.

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 shutdown by a government directive and replaced firstly with the interim Dimosia Tileorasi (DT) and then later by the New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT) broadcaster.[2][3] Following the victory of the SYRIZA party at the January 2015 Greek legislative election, a draft proposal was initiated to re-instate ERT as the public Greek broadcaster. On 28 April 2015, the draft was approved and signed into law by the Hellenic Parliament, resulting in the renaming of NERIT to ERT; ERT began broadcasting once again on 11 June 2015.[4][5] ERT confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on 28 August 2015.[6] The Greek broadcaster has used various methods to select the Greek entry in the past, such as internal selections and televised national finals to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. Since 2010, the Greek entry has been selected via a national final that featured a competition among several artists and songs with the votes of an expert jury and a public televote deciding the Greek Eurovision entry.

Before Eurovision[]

Internal selection[]

On 2 February 2016, the Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) announced that they would be selecting their act and song internally. This was the first time since 2004 that Greece did not use a national final to select their artist and/or song.[7] On 9 February 2016, ERT issued a press release that confirmed the band Argo (formerly known as Europond) as the Greek representatives for the 2016 contest.[8] In regards to the entry, ERT director Dionisis Tsaknis stated: "The song has strong ethnic and Balkan sounds, but not in a traditional way. It's an exciting song in Greek, bringing the country's own identity to the contest. The lyrics will refer to the refugee crisis and the financial difficulties we are facing, but the song is really happy and upbeat."[9]

The song that Argo participated with in the Eurovision Song Contest, "Utopian Land", was presented on 10 March 2016 through a televised press conference and radio premiere.[10] The song was presented via three of Hellenic Radio's stations: ERA 1, ERA 2 and KOSMOS.[11] The press conference was held at Hellenic Radio's Studio E at the House of Radio in Athens and was televised during the ERT1 programme Studio 3, hosted by Marilena Katsimi and Silas Seraphim.[12][13] The official music video, produced by Beetroot productions and filmed in Thessaloniki, was also screened.[14] "Utopian Land", which was written by Argo band member Vladimiros Sofianidis, contains lyrics in English and Greek including phrases in the Pontic Greek dialect.[15][16]

At Eurovision[]

Argo during a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) 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 six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[17] On 25 January 2016, a special 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, held on 10 May 2016, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[18]

Once all the competing songs for the 2016 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Greece was set to perform in position 2, following the entry from Finland and before the entry from Moldova.[19]

The two semi-finals and the final were televised in Greece on ERT1, ERT HD and ERT World as well as broadcast via radio on ERA 2 and Voice of Greece with commentary by Maria Kozakou and Giorgos Kapoutzidis.[20] The Greek spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Greek jury during the final, was Constantinos Christoforou, who previously represented Cyprus at the Eurovision Song Contest as a solo artist in 1996 and 2005 as well as in 2002 as part of the boy band One.[20]

Semi-final[]

Argo during a rehearsal before the first semi-final

Argo took part in technical rehearsals on 2 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May.[21] This included the jury show on 9 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[22]

The Greek performance featured five of the members of Argo performing together on stage with a male dancer; the female members were dressed in white outfits, while the male members were dressed in white shirts and light brown baggy trousers.[23][24] The stage presentation featured a lyre player and traditional Pontic dances with the LED screens projecting red flames and sun patterns. The performance was choreographed by Maria Lyraraki with lighting design by Konstantinos Garinis and costumes designed by Yiorgos Mesimeris.[25] For the performance, Argo member Elias Kesides was replaced by dancer Vasilis Roxenos.[26]

At the end of the show, Greece was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final.[27] This marked the first time that Greece failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004. The last time that Greece had been absent in the Eurovision Song Contest final was in 2000, which was coincidentally also held in Stockholm. It was later revealed that Greece placed sixteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 44 points: 22 points from the televoting and 22 points from the juries.[28]

Voting[]

Voting during the three shows was conducted under a new system that involved each country now awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.[29] In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.[30]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Greece and awarded by Greece in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to Greece[]

Points awarded to Greece (Semi-final 1)[31]
Score Televote Jury
12 points  Cyprus
10 points
8 points
7 points  Armenia  Russia
6 points  Azerbaijan
5 points
4 points
3 points  Russia
  •  Armenia
  •  Cyprus
  •  Montenegro
2 points
1 point

Points awarded by Greece[]

Detailed voting results[]

The following members comprised the Greek jury:[29]

  • Mariza Fakli (jury chairperson) – artists' public relations
  • Lambros Konstantaras – radio producer, journalist
  • Christiana Stamatelou – journalist, music producer
  • Georgios Segredakis – curator stage presence, costume designer
  •  [el] – singer
Detailed voting results from Greece (Semi-final 1)[31]
Draw Country Jury Televote
M. Fakli L. Konstantaras C. Stamatelou G. Segredakis A. Tsarouchis Average Rank Points Rank Points
01  Finland 17 16 17 12 14 17 16
02  Greece
03  Moldova 9 9 7 10 10 8 3 11
04  Hungary 5 3 9 11 4 4 7 4 7
05  Croatia 16 10 16 6 17 14 7 4
06  Netherlands 2 13 15 3 15 10 1 9 2
07  Armenia 3 5 2 2 2 2 10 3 8
08  San Marino 14 17 14 14 13 16 5 6
09  Russia 1 1 1 1 3 1 12 2 10
10  Czech Republic 10 4 13 15 8 11 8 3
11  Cyprus 4 2 4 5 1 3 8 1 12
12  Austria 15 11 3 13 5 9 2 6 5
13  Estonia 11 15 10 4 12 12 14
14  Azerbaijan 6 8 8 7 7 6 5 12
15  Montenegro 7 6 6 8 6 5 6 17
16  Iceland 12 14 11 16 11 13 15
17  Bosnia and Herzegovina 13 12 12 17 16 15 13
18  Malta 8 7 5 9 9 7 4 10 1
Detailed voting results from Greece (Final)[32]
Draw Country Jury Televote
M. Fakli L. Konstantaras C. Stamatelou G. Segredakis A. Tsarouchis Average Rank Points Rank Points
01  Belgium 19 26 23 26 10 24 13
02  Czech Republic 20 6 24 23 19 18 26
03  Netherlands 2 20 12 12 18 13 18
04  Azerbaijan 10 7 7 21 9 10 1 19
05  Hungary 11 4 14 13 8 8 3 9 2
06  Italy 12 14 22 24 3 15 11
07  Israel 15 23 21 20 17 22 23
08  Bulgaria 13 8 9 14 13 11 4 7
09  Sweden 18 19 15 11 26 16 15
10  Germany 22 22 25 25 24 26 24
11  France 8 11 10 2 7 5 6 7 4
12  Poland 25 24 26 15 15 25 8 3
13  Australia 6 5 3 3 14 4 7 6 5
14  Cyprus 4 2 5 5 1 3 8 1 12
15  Serbia 14 21 17 22 20 19 17
16  Lithuania 23 16 16 16 23 20 20
17  Croatia 24 15 18 18 25 23 25
18  Russia 1 1 1 1 4 1 12 2 10
19  Spain 16 17 20 17 21 17 14
20  Latvia 17 18 19 19 22 21 16
21  Ukraine 3 13 13 6 16 9 2 5 6
22  Malta 9 9 8 10 6 7 4 22
23  Georgia 7 10 4 7 12 6 5 12
24  Austria 26 12 11 8 5 12 10 1
25  United Kingdom 21 25 6 9 11 14 21
26  Armenia 5 3 2 4 2 2 10 3 8

References[]

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  29. ^ a b "Here are the judges for Eurovision 2016!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
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  32. ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Stockholm 2016". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.

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