Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Country  Greece
National selection
Selection process Eurosong 2014 – a MAD show
50% Tele-Voting/SMS
50% Judging panel
Selection date(s) 11 March 2014
Selected entrant Freaky Fortune feat. RiskyKidd
Selected song "Rise Up"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Freaky Fortune
  • RiskyKidd
Finals performance
Semi-final result Qualified (7th, 74 points)
Final result 20th, 35 points
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2013 2014 2015►

Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, held between 6 and 10 May 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their entry was selected through Eurosong 2014 - a MAD show.[1]

Background

Prior to the 2014 contest, Greece had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-four times since its first entry in 1974,[2] winning it in 2005 with the song "My Number One" performed by Elena Paparizou,[3] 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 each year (except on 2012). 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.[4]

The Greek national broadcaster, Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), was in charge of Greece's participation each year, including the selection process for its entry.[5][6] 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 songsby one or multiple composersperformed 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.[7] The event supervisor of the Contest said regarding Greece's participation: "EBU will do its best to have Greece on board, given the fact of the special occasion". It was also said that the Greek government has to form the new broadcaster, NERIT, so it would be eligible to participate.[8] On 5 November 2013, NERIT confirmed the participation of the country.[9]

Eurosong 2014 – a MAD show

The Eurosong 2014 logo.

Eurosong 2014 – a MAD show was the Greek national final, held to select the Greek entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.

Dimosia Tileorasi (DT – the interim broadcasting channel prior to the launch of NERIT) officially confirmed in February 2014 that it would collaborate with the private music channel MAD TV to take on the organization and production of a national final.[10] On 11 February 2014, DT and MAD TV officially announced the four acts that would take part in a national final. All four acts were signed to the record label Panik Records or its imprint Platinum Records. The four competing acts were:[11]

Promotional videos of the songs were officially presented during a public news programme on 5 March 2014.[12]

Final

The national final took place on 11 March 2014 at the Acro Music Hall in Athens, hosted by Despina Vandi and Giorgos Kapoutzidis. The competing artists each performed their candidate song in addition to a commemorative series of performances from a number of guests that marked the 40th anniversary of the first Greek participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. The guests included Paschalis Arvanitidis, Marianna Toli, Robert Williams, Bessy Argyraki, Melisses, Elpida, Tamta, Sophia Vossou, Demy, Katy Garbi, Vegas, Kalomira and Claydee.[13]

The winner was selected via 50% public televoting/SMS and 50% internal jury. The internal jury consisted of Dimitris Kontopoulos (composer), Elpida (singer), Themis Georgantas (television producer and radio host), Areti Kalesaki (DT public relations representative), Reggina Kouri (MAD TV public relations representative).[13][14]

Draw Artist Song English translation Music (m) / Lyrics (l) Televoting
(50%)
Jury
(50%)
Total
(%)
Place
1 Crystallia "Petalouda stin Athina" (Πεταλούδα στην Αθήνα) Butterfly in Athens Nikos Antypas (m), Aris Davarakis (l) 9.72 12.35 22.07 3
2 Freaky Fortune feat. RiskyKidd "Rise Up" Freaky Fortune (m/l), Riskykidd (l) 22.33 14.51 36.83 1
3 Kostas Martakis "Kanenas de me stamata" (Κανένας δε με σταματά) Nobody can stop me Elias Kozas(m/l) 14.20 13.89 28.09 2
4 Mark Angelo feat. Josephine "Dancing Night" Mark F. Angelo (m/l), Thomas Karlsson (m/l), Fast Lane (m/l), Josephine Wendel (m/l), Melina Makris (m/l) 3.75 9.26 13.01 4

At Eurovision

Freaky Fortune and Riskykidd at the second semi-final dress rehearsal

During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Greece was drawn to compete in the second half of the second semi-final on 8 May 2014. In the second semifinal, the producers of the show decided that Greece would perform 13th, following Switzerland and preceding Slovenia. Greece qualified from the second semi-final to compete in the final on 10 May 2014.[15] During the winner's press conference for the second semi-final qualifiers, Greece was allocated to compete in the first half of the final.The result was the 20th place for the Greek delegation, which marked their worst placing in the history of the country in the Contest. [16]

Points awarded to Greece

Points Awarded to Greece (Semi-Final 2)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points Awarded to Greece (Final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Greece

Semi-final 2

Points awarded in second semi-final:

12 points Austria
10 points Romania
8 points Belarus
7 points Norway
6 points Israel
5 points  Switzerland
4 points Finland
3 points Poland
2 points Ireland
1 point Georgia

Final

Points awarded in the final:

12 points Austria
10 points Russia
8 points Netherlands
7 points Armenia
6 points Hungary
5 points Ukraine
4 points  Switzerland
3 points Norway
2 points Sweden
1 point Poland

Split voting results

The following five members comprise the Greek jury:[17]

Semi-final 2

The Greek votes in the second semi-final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.[18]

Semi-final 2 – Greek Results
Draw Country V. Apergis K. Pantzoglou R. Papadea A. Makris M. Sinatsaki Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Scoreboard (Points)
01  Malta 7 7 9 5 10 7 12 11
02  Israel 9 2 1 2 7 3 9 5 6
03  Norway 4 1 3 1 1 1 10 4 7
04  Georgia 13 8 13 8 8 12 4 10 1
05  Poland 14 14 10 3 3 9 6 8 3
06  Austria 1 4 6 6 2 2 1 1 12
07  Lithuania 8 13 12 12 14 13 13 14
08  Finland 3 3 5 11 12 6 8 7 4
09  Ireland 5 11 7 4 11 8 7 9 2
10  Belarus 10 6 4 7 4 4 5 3 8
11  Macedonia 2 10 14 13 6 11 14 13
12   Switzerland 12 9 8 10 5 10 3 6 5
13  Greece
14  Slovenia 11 12 11 14 13 14 11 12
15  Romania 6 5 2 9 9 5 2 2 10

Final

The Greek votes in the grand final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.[19]

Final – Greek Results
Draw Country V. Apergis K. Pantzoglou R. Papadea A. Makris M. Sinatsaki Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Scoreboard (Points)
01  Ukraine 16 3 5 4 5 5 10 6 5
02  Belarus 7 16 8 10 8 10 12 11
03  Azerbaijan 13 9 6 6 9 6 25 17
04  Iceland 4 10 7 14 22 11 20 15
05  Norway 9 6 3 2 1 4 14 8 3
06  Romania 21 14 18 24 13 18 9 13
07  Armenia 17 13 15 8 6 12 1 4 7
08  Montenegro 14 23 24 13 24 21 21 24
09  Poland 25 15 23 15 7 17 5 10 1
10  Greece
11  Austria 1 2 4 5 3 1 2 1 12
12  Germany 11 19 20 12 18 16 24 22
13  Sweden 19 8 16 17 10 14 6 9 2
14  France 22 17 19 16 19 20 19 21
15  Russia 10 5 2 1 2 3 3 2 10
16  Italy 23 25 22 22 21 25 17 23
17  Slovenia 20 24 17 23 15 22 23 25
18  Finland 2 7 9 11 16 7 16 12
19  Spain 24 20 21 18 23 23 11 18
20   Switzerland 6 12 13 19 14 13 4 7 4
21  Hungary 5 1 11 20 11 8 7 5 6
22  Malta 8 11 10 7 12 9 22 16
23  Denmark 15 22 12 25 17 19 18 19
24  Netherlands 3 4 1 3 4 2 8 3 8
25  San Marino 18 21 25 21 25 24 15 20
26  United Kingdom 12 18 14 9 20 15 13 14

See also

References

  1. Xifaras, Billy (11 February 2014). "IT’S OFFICIAL: HERE ARE THE FOUR EUROVISION HOPEFULS IN GREECE". Wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  2. Staff. "Eurovision Song Contest 1974". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
  3. Staff (21 May 2005). "Eurovision win for Greek singer". BBC Online. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
  4. "History by Country: Greece". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  5. Paravantes, Maria. (11 June 2005). Joy In Greece Over Eurovision Win. Billboard 117(24), 17-17. Retrieved on 16 January 2009.
  6. Staff (18 December 2009). "Eurovision 2010: Οι 10 ελληνικές υποψηφιότητες" (in Greek). ERT. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  7. Floras, Stella (11 June 2013). "Greece shuts down public broadcaster ERT". ESCToday. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  8. Vranis, Michalis (4 October 2013). "Eurovision 2014: Greek participation in focus". Esctoday.
  9. Kon/Poulos, Fotis (5 November 2013). "NERIT CONFIRMS GREEK PARTICIPATION". Oikotimes.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  10. Jiandani, Sanjay (28 February 2014). "Greece: National final on 11 March". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  11. Juhász, Ervin (11 February 2014). "Greece: National final in March". escXtra.com. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  12. Roxburgh, Gordon (5 March 2014). "Songs in Greek EuroSong revealed". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  13. 1 2 Roxburgh, Gordon (11 March 2014). "Watch the Greek EuroSong tonight". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  14. Fisher, Luke (11 March 2014). "Greece: Jury for tonight’s show". escXtra.com. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  15. Escudero, Victor M. (20 January 2014). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  16. Brey, Marco (8 May 2014). "Second Semi-Final: The Winners' Press Conference". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  17. Brey, Marco (1 May 2014). "Who will be in the expert juries?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  18. "Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Second Semi-Final". Eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  19. "Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
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