About Greece...

2006 Result
History (1956 to 2005)
This year's entry
What I predicted...
What you thought...
What actually happened...
What the bookies thought...

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2006 Result

Points in Semi Final: N/A
Position in Semi Final: N/A

Points in Final: 128
Position in Final: 9th
More about the 2006 result for Greece

2007 Contest: Directly qualified to Final

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History (1956 to 2005)

Greece's previous appearances: 26 year(s) out of 50 [note]
Years participated: 1974; 1976-1981; 1983; 1985; 1987-1998; 2001- [note]
Best result: 1st (2005)

Prior to the '00s, Greece had enjoyed a less than glorious record in Eurovision, never finishing higher than 5th between 1974 and 1998. After ending up a lowly 20th in 1998, the country missed the 1999 Contest through relegation, and declined to take part in 2000. However, since 2001, Greece has taken advantage of the free language rule to perform in English, at the same time as sending some of its most bankable stars to Eurovision. This seems to have done the trick, as with one or two exceptions, the last five years have seen a string of impressive Greek results.

Hopes were high in 2001, with Antique's song 'Die for you' one of the favourites prior to the Contest. In the end, it was never a real contender for victory in the final voting, but Antique's performance nevertheless provided Greece with an impressive 3rd place - up to then its best ever result. Unfortunately, the momentum was not maintained in 2002, with the ridiculous 'S'Agapo' finishing 17th (out of 24) - probably higher than it deserved. After the contest, Mihálís blamed sound problems for the poor result, though most viewers thought the song scored badly because it was rubbish.

2003 saw high expectations for Mando, an established and popular artist in Greece and beyond, with her song 'Never let you go'. Sadly, Mando went for the dominatrix vote with a face and outfit borrowed from Cher, and the song scored even fewer points than Mihálís the year before. However, seeking an uplift in their fortunes, the Greeks pulled out all the stops in 2004, combining one of the country's most popular stars - Sakis Rouvas - with a song written by Nikos Terzis, the composer of 'Die for you'. It very nearly worked - the clear favourite prior to the Contest, Sakis and 'Shake it' scored an impressive 252 points in the Final, and achieved the rare feat of gaining points from every other country, including five 12s. In the end, however, it was only enough to secure an Antique-equalling 3rd place, easily securing the Greeks' direct entry to the 2005 Final, but falling short of the elusive first victory that they had so craved.

After the disappointment of Sakis finishing so near yet so far, the Greeks could have been forgiven for coming back with a lacklustre Mihálís-style effort, but if anything, their second 3rd place in four years seemed to make them even more determined to win. The country got off to a good start by enlisting Helena Paparizou - half of the duo Antique, who secured 2001's 3rd place - in its bid for Eurovision glory, going on to select a strong and contemporary song in the shape of 'My number one'. It proved an irresistible combination - the runaway favourite prior to the Contest, Helena's decisive victory surprised neither the fans nor the bookmakers, finally bringing victory to Greece after 26 attempts. Her tally of 230 points, while notably lower than the total amassed by Sakis a year earlier, was 38 more than second-placed Malta, and included the maximum 'douze points' from countries as diverse as Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and the United Kingdom. As a result, Greece obviously finds itself directly qualified for the 2006 Final, but the country will surely need a killer song from a great performer if it is to maintain the level of success that it has attained in recent years.
Get 'The Eurovision Song Contest: The Offical History' at Amazon.co.uk

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This year's entry

Position in Semi Final draw: N/A
Position in Final draw: 16

What I said prior to the Semi Final:
"After being touted as the Greek Eurovision representative on what seems like an annual basis (in no small part thanks to the incessant hyping and wishful thinking of enthusiastic Greek fans), it is something of a relief to finally see Anna Vissi as the Greek participant in Athens. Of course, Anna is something of a Eurovision veteran, having already represented Greece in 1980 (with the rather dated 'Autostop', finishing 13th) and what is technically her home country of Cyprus in 1982 (the 5th placed 'Mono i agapi'). With her 2006 appearance, Anna joins quite a long list of performers who have taken part at Eurovision three times (indeed, four singers have appeared four times), though only Romuald (MC 1964, LU 1969, MC 1974) and Irene Sheer (LU 1974, DE 1978, LU 1985) share Anna's distinction of representing one country, representing another country, and then going back to representing the first country again. Her 24 year gap between successive appearances is also, it would appear, a Eurovision record.

Anna Vissi's song was chosen via a national final on 14 March, with the ballad 'Everything' - featuring lyrics by Anna and a melody composed by her long-term collaborator and ex-husband, Nikos Karvelas - scoring a decisive victory over the other three contenders. If Greece has a desire to win Eurovision two years on the trot it's certainly going the right way about it, as 'Everything' is a corker of a song that could well bring another Greek victory. No doubt aware that it's been a long time since a ballad won Eurovision, the Greeks have thrown everything including the kitchen sink at 'Everything' in order to create the dramatic ballad to beat all dramatic ballads - it starts softly before erupting into a dramatic chorus and bridge; features an impressive high note and the obligatory key change along the way; and is performed with extraordinary gusto by Ms Vissi. On the BBC's 'Making Your Mind Up' show Fearne Cotton memorably (and erroneously) described Kym Marsh's rather wishy washy 'Whisper to me' as a power ballad - she should listen to 'Everything' to hear what a power ballad is meant to sound like.

Anna's 'live' performance of the song at the Greek national final was clearly mimed, accompanied by rather over the top dramatics. However, when 'Everything' is performed genuinely live in Athens - and with a career lasting over 25 years, Anna Vissi is undoubtedly an experienced live performer - it is easy to see her giving the song an emotional resonance that it might lack if performed by someone younger. It's certainly a big diva song - the kind of thing you can see being performed by Céline Dion, Shirley Bassey or even Cilla Black (I like Cilla Black, so that's a compliment). Consequently, I do think the song needs a big diva outfit - I felt that the jeans and top that Anna wore on Greek TV were just too casual and ordinary for the song, and I hope that by the time Eurovision comes she will have found a lovely Darja Švajger-style frock.

Incidentally, it is quite amusing to see how my opinion on the Greek song is seemingly awaited with some anticipation. As well as comments chivvying me below, I've even been the subject of discussion at Esctoday.com, with S S saying "I am wondering what will Mr Soult (soult.com) and Mr Keith (ALL kinds of everything website) have to say about the greek entry this year. They are usually very critical of the greek entries" - obviously all the thanks I get for saying that Helena's effort last year had "'success' written all over it" and was "a modern upbeat song with an ethnic flavour, performed by an attractive and experienced female artist with a good voice and impressive stage presence". Geesh, if you think that's 'critical' you should read what I have to say about some of the other entries! :) "

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What I predicted...

My prediction for Semi Final: N/A
My prediction for Final: 1st to 3rd, possible winner
See all my predictions for the 2006 Semi Final
See all my predictions for the 2006 Final

What I predicted prior to the Semi Final:
"Be scared, be very scared. I was delighted to hear that Anna will be performing alone on stage in Athens, without the entourage of backing singers, dancers or trapeze artists that can so easily detract from a really strong song. Looking back over the last couple of years, this kind of simple, gimmick-free staging of big ballads has had mixed success - it worked extremely well for Chiara in 2005 and Lisa Andreas in 2004, but couldn't help Jónsi in Istanbul or Glennis Grace in Kiev. However, this may simply reflect the quality of the respective vocal performances and of the songs themselves - after all, with no onstage distractions it's really all about the song. If Anna can pull off a superb performance that does justice to her excellent ballad, then there is every reason to think we could be back in Athens in 2007. At this stage, with bookmakers offering ridiculously short odds of less than 3-1, the Eurovision really is Anna's to lose. Indeed, I probably would place a bet on Anna finishing top four but you'd really have to bet too much money if you wanted to make a reasonable profit. With my usual bet being £2 a piece, it probably isn't worth it! "
Want an alternative prediction? See Simon Hylands' 'Je t'adore, Eurovision!' site

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What you thought...

View the final leader board

In the run up to the Contest, 1,721 visitors to this site awarded points to their favourite songs in the Soult.com Eurovision Jury Vote 2006, voting as a representative of their own country's 'jury'. The votes awarded by representatives of each country were totalled, with each of the 38 participating countries (plus the 'Rest of the World') then awarding points - 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - based on the overall voting preference of its representatives. The points awarded to the entry from Greece are shown in the tables below:

Points awarded to Greece overall:
AL	12	HR	6	GR	X	MK	0	PL	7	ES	7
AD	0	CY	12	IS	0	MT	8	PT	7	SE	10
AM	0	DK	10	IE	5	MD	0	RO	12	CH	0
BY	8	EE	5	IL	5	MC	0	RU	0	TR	8
BE	8	FI	0	LV	0	NL	5	CS	7	UA	5
BA	5	FR	12	LT	10	NO	0	SI	7	UK	12
BG	2	DE	12	WO	10	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: 217, from 27/39 juries
Position: 2 out of 37

Points awarded to Greece in the Semi Final:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	X	MK	0	PL	0	ES	0
AD	0	CY	0	IS	0	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	0	DK	0	IE	0	MD	0	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	0	IL	0	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	0	LV	0	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	0	NO	0	SI	0	UK	0
BG	0	DE	0	WO	0	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: N/A, from N/A/39 juries
Position: N/A out of 23

Points awarded to Greece in the Final:
AL	12	HR	6	GR	X	MK	0	PL	8	ES	7
AD	0	CY	12	IS	0	MT	8	PT	7	SE	10
AM	0	DK	10	IE	5	MD	0	RO	12	CH	0
BY	8	EE	5	IL	5	MC	0	RU	2	TR	10
BE	8	FI	1	LV	2	NL	5