Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998

Greece in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
Participating broadcasterHellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT)
Country Greece
Selection processNational final
Selection date7 March 1998
Competing entry
Song"Mia krifi evaisthisia"
ArtistThalassa
Songwriters
  • Yiannis Valvis
  • Yiannis Malachias
Placement
Final result20th, 12 points
Participation chronology
◄1997 • 1998 • 2001►

Greece was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Mia krifi evaisthisia" (Μια κρυφή ευαισθησία), composed by Yiannis Valvis, with lyrics by Yiannis Malachias, and performed by Thalassa. The Greek participating broadcaster, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), selected its entry through a national final.

Performing second in the running order at the contest, they finished in 20th place out of the 25 countries competing. This marked a new record for the least successful placement for Greece.

Background

Main article: Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 1998 contest, the National Radio Television Foundation (EIRT) in 1974, and the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) since 1975, had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Greece 20 times since EIRT debut in 1974.[1][2][3] By 1998, their best result was fifth place which was achieved twice: in 1977 with the song "Mathima solfege" performed by the band Paschalis, Marianna, Robert and Bessy and in in 1992 with "Olou tou kosmou i Elpida" performed by Cleopatra.[4] Their least successful result was in 1990 when it placed 19th with the song "Horis skopo" by Christos Callow and Wave, receiving only 11 points in total.[3]

Before Eurovision

National final

Before the final, ERT held eight semi-finals at its television studios in Athens, hosted by Giorgos Marinos. Televoting selected the winning song in each semi-final to qualify for the final.

Semi-finals

Semi-final 1
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Yiannis Haniotakis "Gynekes" (Γυναίκες) 1,799 3
2 Marianna Efstratiou "Ekleges gia mena" (Έκλαιγες για μένα) 3,438 2
3 Katerina Kourentzi "Na ziso to fili" (Να ζήσω το φιλί) 3,890 1
Semi-final 2
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Kostas Katsigiannis "Me ekatonpeninta" (Με εκατόν πενήντα) 2,086 3
2 Theodoros Zaharis "Tha s'agapo" (Θα σ'αγαπώ) 5,609 1
3 Dionysis Schinas "Palies agapes" (Παλιές αγάπες) 4,102 2
Semi-final 3
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Haralampos Kavalieros "Agapi pou pote" (Αγάπη που ποτέ) 3,218 2
2 Evi Dikou "San oneiro" (Σαν όνειρο) 2,156 3
3 Dionysia Karoki and Thalassa "Mia krifi evaisthisia" (Μια κρυφή ευαισθησία) 9,226 1
Semi-final 4
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Stamatis Papadakis "Erota sofe" (Έρωτα σοφέ) 1,423 2
2 Yiannis Haniotakis "An itan i agapi" (Αν ήταν η αγάπη) 1,382 3
3 Hara Konstantinou "Fantasia mou" (Φαντασία μου) 3,323 1
Semi-final 5
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Victor Polydorou "Melodia" (Μελωδία) 3,383 2
2 Iro Lehouriti "Tipota" (Τίποτα) 5,232 1
3 Yiannis Drakopoulos "Alexandra" (Αλεξάνδρα) 1,366 3
Semi-final 6
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Marianna Efstratiou "Opos i vrochi" (Όπως η βροχή) 3,199 2
2 Stavros Siolas "Agapi moni" (Αγάπη μόνη) 1,861 3
3 Nikos Blios "Kita to fos" (Κοίτα το φως) 3,264 1
Semi-final 7
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Nikos Katikaridis "O vasilias ton ftohon" (Ο βασιλιάς τών φτωχών) 5,614 3
2 Marianna Efstratiou "Ta hili pou filouses" (Τα χειλή που φιλούσες) 5,891 2
3 Vivetta Koursi "Se nostalgo" (Σε νοσταλγώ) 10,706 1
Semi-final 8
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Efstathia Mantzoufa "Deisdaemona" (Δεισδαίμονα) 4,677 3
2 Dionysia Karoki and Thalassa "Kosme cinema" (Κόσμε σινεμά) 7,580 1
3 Robert Williams, Konstantinos Paliatsaras and Mara Thrasivoulidou "Promitheas" (Προμηθέας) 6,299 2

Final

ERT held the final on 7 March 1998 at its television studios in Athens, hosted by Giorgos Marinos. The winner was chosen by televoting. At the end of the event, Dionisia Karoki and Thalassa were selected to represent Greece with the song "Mia krifi evaisthisia". Following the selection, the group did not receive promotional support for the entry and they were not signed to a record label.[5][6]

Final – 7 March 1998
Draw Singer Song Televote Place
1 Nikos Blios "Kita to fos" (Κοίτα το φως) 7,274 5
2 Iro Lehouriti "Tipota" (Τίποτα) 19,421 2
3 Katerina Kourentzi "Na ziso to fili" (Να ζήσω το φιλί) 8,249 4
4 Dionysia Karoki and Thalassa "Kosme cinema" (Κόσμε σινεμά) 2,295 7
5 Hara Konstantinou "Fantasia mou" (Φαντασία μου) 1,538 8
6 Theodoros Zaharis "Tha s'agapo" (Θα σ'αγαπώ) 5,964 6
7 Vivetta Koursi "Se nostalgo" (Σε νοσταλγώ) 17,364 3
8 Dionysia Karoki and Thalassa "Mia krifi evaisthisia" (Μια κρυφή ευαισθησία) 19,477 1

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 took place at National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom, on 9 May 1998.[7] Following confirmation of the 25-country participant list, the running order for the contest was decided by a draw held on 13 November 1997; Greece was assigned to perform second, following Croatia and preceding France.[8][9]

In the lead up to the event, the song's composer, Yiannis Valvis, was not happy with the way the group's performance was to be filmed and demanded changes. When his demands were not met, the group threatened to quit the contest on the morning of the final day of rehearsals, and on the afternoon, they pulled out. Only minutes after their withdrawal, however, the group returned to the green room, having decided to go through with the performance after all, without the composer watching them on stage. Valvis was not permitted to attend the contest, on account of his aggressive behavior. He watched the contest locked inside his hotel room with two security guards guarding his door.[10]

The Greek spokesperson announcing the nation's votes was Alexis Kostalas who, with the exceptions of 1999 and 2000 in which Greece did not participate, would serve as spokesperson until 2010. At the close of voting, "Mia krifi evaisthisia" received 12 points in total, all from Cyprus, placing Greece 20th out of the 25 entries.[11] This was the worst result for Greece in the contest at this point, and remained as so until 2016. Following this result, Greece was relegated from participation in 1999 contest.[12]

Voting

References

  1. ^ Paravantes, Maria (11 June 2005). "Joy In Greece Over Eurovision Win". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 24. p. 17. Retrieved 16 January 2009 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Floras, Stella (11 June 2013). "Greece shuts down public broadcaster ERT". ESCToday. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Countries – Greece". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  4. ^ "46ος Πανευρωπαϊκος Διαγωνισμος-Τραγουδιου Eurovision-Κοπεγχάγη 12 Μαϊου" (in Greek). Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). 2001. Archived from the original on 30 May 2001. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  5. ^ Charalambopoulos, Makis (12 January 2018). "Διονυσία Καρόκη με 'κρυφή ευαισθησία' ερμηνεύει 'Ανθρωποι Μονάχοι'". Mikrofono (in Greek). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Διονυσία Καρόκη: 'Μια κρυφή ευαισθησία» για τη Eurovision'". Peloponnisos (in Greek). 21 May 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Birmingham 1998–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Rules of the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest, 1998" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "Results of the Final of Birmingham 1998". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  10. ^ Naked Eurovision. Birmingham, United Kingdom: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 31 December 1998. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Final of Birmingham 1998". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Jerusalem 1999 – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
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