Ellinikós Telikós (;

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

for "Greek Final") is a song contest which took place every year in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

until 2017, and decided who would represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest started in 1979, when Elpida took the title. Over the years, the contest took place in various venues, from TV studios to concert halls. The most famous winners include Helena Paparizou, Kalomira,

Sakis Rouvas Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas ( el, Αναστάσιος "Σάκης" Ρουβάς, ; born 5 January 1972), also known mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek singer, film and television actor, businessman and former pole vaulter and model. Born in Co ...

Anna Vissi Anna Vissi ( el, Άννα Βίσση, , ; born 20 December 1957), is a Greek Cypriot singer and songwriter. She studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, in 1973, where she signed ...

, and Katy Garbi.

History

ERT, the Greek public broadcaster was the first member of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950 and because it was a state with

Military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

, Greece wasn't able to enter the contest. After the Athens Polytechnic uprising and the fall of junta, Greece was again a democratic state and the first attempt to enter the contest was in 1974 with

Marinella Marinella ( el, Μαρινέλλα) (born 20 May 1938, Thessaloniki) is one of the most popular Greek singers whose career has spanned several decades. She has sung professionally since 1957. Since the beginning of her career, she has release ...

and her song Krasi, Thalassa Kai T' Agori Mou. Greece did not participate in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1975 The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song " Waterloo" by ABBA. Organised by the European Broadcasting Un ...

for "unknown reasons" according to the EBU, but it was discovered that the withdrawal was in protest of Turkey's debut and its invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Greece was disqualified from the

Eurovision Song Contest 1982 The Eurovision Song Contest 1982 was the 27th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Harrogate, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the with the song "Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz. Organised by the ...

after it was revealed that Themis Adamantidis was to sing "Sarantapente Kopelies" (), a previously released song. After returning in 1983, ERT decided that all of the possible songs were of "low quality" and decided not to participate in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1984 The Eurovision Song Contest 1984, the 29th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the with the song "Si la vie est cadeau" by Corinne Hermes. Organised by t ...

. Greece returned once again to the Contest in 1985, and Polina was picked in the 1986 national selection to represent Greece at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1986 The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song " La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcast ...

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, Norway, but ERT pulled out of the Contest unexpectedly. Polina stated that it was due to political troubles in Greece at the time, but she noted that a Eurovision website had learned that the real reason was that the Contest was to be held the night before Orthodox Easter. Greece returned to the Contest in 1987 and performed each year until the

Eurovision Song Contest 1999 The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem, Israel. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Israe ...

, when it was not allowed to participate because of its low five-year points average. The following year ERT announced that it would not return at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2000 The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson. Organised by the Europea ...

History

Winners

Host venues and presenters

See also

Notes