Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Country	Greece
National selection
Selection process	Internal selection
Selection date(s)	Artist: 9 February 2016 Song: 10 March 2016
Selected entrant	Argo
Selected song	"Utopian Land"
Selected songwriter(s)	Vladimiros Sofianidis
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2015 • 2016

Greece will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Utopian Land" written by Vladimiros Sofianidis. The song will be 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 at the Greek representatives on 9 February 2016, while their song "Utopian Land" was presented on 10 March 2016.

Background

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 contest, Greece has managed to thus far qualify to the final with each of their entries. Between 2004 to 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 will participate 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 5" (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, to be 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 will be broadcast in Greece on ERT1 and ERT HD with commentary by Maria Kozakou and Giorgos Kapoutzidis.^[20]

Semi-final

Argo during a rehearsal before the first semi-final

Argo will take part in technical rehearsals on 2 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May.^[21] This includes the jury show on 9 May where the professional juries of each country will watch and vote on the competing entries.

The Greek performance features five of the members of Argo performing together on stage with a male dancer; the female members are dressed in white outfits, while the male members are dressed in white shirts and light brown baggy trousers.^[22][23] The stage presentation features 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.^[20] For the performance, Argo member Elias Kesides was replaced by dancer Vasilis Roxenos.^[24]

Voting

Voting during the three shows will be conducted under a new system that will involve 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 will consist 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 will judge each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.^[25] 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 will be released shortly after the grand final.^[26]

Split voting results

The following five members will comprise the Greek jury:^[25]

• Mariza Fakli – Chairperson – artists' public relations
• Christiana Stamatelou – journalist, music producer
• Georgios Segredakis – curator stage presence, costume designer
• Adam Tsarouchis – singer
• Lambros Konstantaras – radio producer, journalist

References

1. "Greece | Country profile | Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
2. Savaricas, Nathalie (11 July 2013). "Greece's state-run TV service resumes with a blast from the past". independent.co.uk. The Independent. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
3. "Greece's replacement public broadcaster launched". dw.com. Deutsche Welle. 4 May 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
4. Maltezou, Renee (28 April 2015). "In symbolic move, Greece to reopen shuttered state broadcaster". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
5. "Greece's state broadcaster ERT back on air after two years". bbc.com. BBC News. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
6. "Συμφωνία ΕΡΤ - Forthnet για τα στιγμιότυπα της Super League". enimerosi24.gr (in Greek). Enimerosi24. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
7. Granger, Anthony (2 Feb 2016). "Greece: Song Details Revealed". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix.
8. Vranis, Michalis (9 February 2016). "Greece: With Argo to Eurovision!". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
9. Xifaras, Billy (2 February 2016). "Greece: song details revealed - a Balkan-ethnic entry". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
10. "Eurovision 2016: Ανακοινώθηκε η ημερομηνία της παρουσίασης του Ελληνικού τραγουδιού". GetGreekMusic.gr. GetGreekMusic. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
11. Weaver, Jessica (9 March 2016). "Greece: Utopian Land radio premiere tomorrow". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
12. "Η επίσημη παρουσίαση του ελληνικού τραγουδιού για τη Eurovision". newsit.gr (in Greek). News.it. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
13. Papadimitriou, Georgia (10 March 2016). "Η Ελλάδα στην Eurovision με τραγούδι για τους πρόσφυγες- Δείτε το video clip". protothema.gr (in Greek). Protothema.gr. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
14. "ΕΛΛΑΔΑ: Αύριο η παρουσίαση του επίσημου video clip!". ogaegreece.com (in Greek). OGAE Greece. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
15. Karatzikos, Antonis (25 February 2016). "ΕΛΛΑΔΑ: Ο τίτλος και οι στίχοι του τραγουδιού!". OGAE Greece. OGAE. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
16. Roxburgh, Gordon (10 March 2016). "Greece: Argo presents "Utopian Land"". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
17. Jordan, Paul (21 January 2016). "Semi-Final Allocation Draw on Monday, pots revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
18. Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
19. Jordan, Paul (8 April 2016). "Running order of the Semi-Finals revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
20. "Eurovision 2016: Πως σας φάνηκε το ελληνικό τραγούδι; ΨΗΦΙΣΤΕ". news247.gr (in Greek). News247. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
21. "Media Activities" (PDF). eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
22. Roxburgh, Gordon (2 May 2016). "First day of rehearsals at the Globe Arena". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
23. Roxburgh, Gordon (6 May 2016). "Day 5 at the Globe Arena". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
24. Vasileiadis, George (20 March 2016). "Greece: Argo will stage "Utopian Land" with Pontian dancing and lose one vocalist". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
25. "Here are the judges for Eurovision 2016!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
26. Jordan, Paul (18 February 2016). "Biggest change to Eurovision Song Contest voting since 1975". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 February 2016.

External links

• Official ERT Eurovision site