Greece are shaking things up in the upcoming Eurovision season by giving a bigger role to their public in the selection of their song for 2023!
Not a national final, but…
Greece has opted for an internal selection in the past few years, with overall successful results for the country, which ended in the top 10 in both 2021 and 2022 with “Last Dance” and “Die Together” respectively. The president of ERT, Greece’s broadcaster, has stated that the selection will remain that way. So how does the public get included in this?
ERT will use two committees to select the entry, one consisting of music professionals (as in previous years), but also one consisting of the public. President of ERT Konstantin Zoulas shared that:
We are thinking of creating an expanded committee of citizens, who will come to the Radio House of Agia Paraskevi, wear headphones, listen to the nominated songs, vote and their vote will count just as much as the EBU’s now.
The people who are a part of this committee will be selected from an open call presented by ERT, meaning that the people involved will definitely be fans of the contest. The process of the song selection will not be televised, which means that there is just an extra layer to the internal selection. The public committee will have 50.6% of the voting power, and the professionals will have 49.4%. Greek fans, keep an eye on the broadcaster’s website!
Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest
Out of 42 participations to date, Greece has won the Eurovision Song Contest once – in 2005 with Helena Paparizou’s “My Number One”. They have also finished in third place on three occasions (2001, 2004 and 2008).
Earlier this year in Turin, Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord brought Greece its third consecutive qualification and second consecutive top 10 placement. She placed 8th with 215 points.
Who would you like to see represent Greece in 2023? Let us know by leaving a comment below! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram, @escxtra on TikTok and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite ESC and JESC acts.
