Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020
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Song: 1 March 2020
| Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) | |||
| Country | ||||
| Selection process | Internal selection | |||
| Announcement date | Artist: 3 February 2020 Song: 1 March 2020 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Supergirl" | |||
| Artist | Stefania | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Final result | Contest cancelled | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Greece was set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Supergirl", written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, Sharon Vaughn, Pavlos Manolis, Anastasios Rammos, Diverno, and Gabriel Russell, and performed by Stefania. The Greek participating broadcaster, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), internally selected its entry for the contest. Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe, the contest was cancelled in mid-March. ERT stated Stefania would instead represent Greece at the 2021 contest.
Prior to the 2020 contest, Greece had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty times since their debut in 1974.[1] They have won the contest once, in 2005 with the song "My Number One" performed by Helena Paparizou. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Greece managed to qualify for the final with each of their entries for several years. Between 2004 and 2013, they achieved nine top ten placements in the final.[2] To this point, in 2016 with "Utopian Land" by Argo, they failed to qualify from the semi-finals for the first time ever, being absent from the final for the first time since 2000, marking their worst result at the contest. In 2018, they failed to qualify for the second time with "Oniro mou" by Yianna Terzi finishing 14th in the semi-final. Greece returned to the final in 2019 with "Better Love" by Katerine Duska, placing 21st with 74 points.[1]
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. ERT predecessor, National Radio Television Foundation (EIRT) debuted in the contest in 1974 and then ERT participated from 1975 until 2013, when the broadcaster was shut down by a government directive. It was replaced firstly with the interim Dimosia Tileorasi (DT) and then later by New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT).[3][4][5][6] On 28 April 2015, a legislative proposal that resulted in the renaming of NERIT to ERT was approved and signed into law by the Hellenic Parliament; ERT began broadcasting once again on 11 June 2015.[4][7] The new ERT then confirmed its intentions to participate at the 2016 contest on 28 August 2015.[8]
The Greek broadcaster has used various methods to select its entry in the past, such as internal selections and televised national finals to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. In early September 2019, Maria Koufopoulou, ERT's director of international relations, confirmed that ERT would participate in the 2020 contest.[9][10] She also stated that they were still evaluating how to select the entry and were in discussions with local fan clubs to solicit ideas.[9][10]
