Prior to the 2026 contest, Greece had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 45 times since its debut in 1974.[1] The nation has won the contest once to this point, in 2005 with the song "My Number One" performed by Helena Paparizou. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, it managed to qualify for the final with each of its entries for several years. Between 2004 and 2013, it achieved nine top ten placements in the final. The first entry to not qualify to the final was "Utopian Land" performed by Argo in 2016. Its 16th-place finish in the semi-final marked its worst placing at the contest and led to its absence from the final for the first time since 2000, when it did not send an entry. In the 2018 contest, it failed to qualify for the second time with "Oniro mou" by Yianna Terzi, finishing 14th in the semi-final, and for the third time in 2023 with "What They Say" by Victor Vernicos. In 2025, "Asteromata" by Klavdia qualified for the final and placed sixth with 231 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.[2] ERT's predecessor, the 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 the New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT) broadcaster,[2][3][4][5] before reverting to the ERT name by the new government in June 2015.[6][7] The Greek broadcasters over the years had selected their entries both internally and through the national final format Ellinikós Telikós. ERT confirmed its intention to participate in the 2026 contest on 16 July 2025, and announced on 30 September that a national final would be organised to select its representative.[8][9]
Before Eurovision
Sing for Greece 2026
Sing for Greece 2026 was the national final developed by ERT to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.[10] The competition consisted of three shows that took place between 11 and 15 February 2026 at the Peiraios 260 in Athens, hosted by Giorgos Kapoutzidis, Betty Maggira[el] and Katerina Vrana, with Fokas Evangelinos serving as the artistic director.[11][12] All shows were broadcast on ERT1, ERT World, Second Programme (with commentary by Mikaela Theofilou and Dimitris Meidanis), Voice of Greece and ERT echo, as well as online on ERT's over-the-top media service ERTFLIX.[13][14] The final was also broadcast on RIK 1 in Cyprus and on the Eurovision Song Contest's official YouTube channel.[15][16]
Format
The competition consisted of three shows: two semi-finals on 11 and 13 February 2026 and a final on 15 February 2026. 14 songs competed in each semi-final and the top seven entries qualified to the final. The results for the semi-finals were determined exclusively by public voting, while the results in the final were determined by a combination of public and jury voting.[9][17] Public voting was conducted through SMS and online voting.[18]
Competing entries
On 17 September 2025, ERT opened a submission period where artists and composers were able to submit their entries for consideration by the broadcaster by 2 November 2025.[19] Artists were required to be Greek citizens, be permanent residents in Greece or be of Greek descent. Songwriters could be of any nationality and submit up to three songs, however each song was required to have at least one songwriter that was a Greek citizen or a permanent resident in Greece.[20] 264 songs were received by the submission deadline and a seven-member jury selected 28 entries to participate in the national final.[20][21] The jury consisted of Giorgos Theofanous (composer and producer), Pavlina Voulgaraki[el] (songwriter), Despina Kritikou (radio station director), Monsieur Minimal (songwriter), Giorgos Mouchtaridis (radio producer), Dimitris Rigopoulos (journalist) and Marietta Fafouti (songwriter).[22] The competing entries were revealed on 4 January 2026 during the show Sing for Greece –Ethnikós Telikós Eurovision 2026 – I finalist, broadcast on ERT1 and hosted by Betty Maggira, Kelly Vranaki and Thanos Papahamos.[23] Among the selected competing artists was Koza Mostra, who previously represented Greece in 2013.[24]
The two semi-finals took place on 11 and 13 February 2026. 14 songs competed in each semi-final, with the top seven proceeding to the final based on a public vote.[25] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included Klavdia (who represented Greece in 2025) in the first semi-final, and Tamta (who represented Cyprus in 2019) and Antigoni (who would represent Cyprus in 2026) in the second semi-final.[26]
The final took place on 15 February 2026. Fourteen songs competed and the winner, "Ferto" performed by Akylas, was selected by a combination of public voting (50%), Greek jury voting (25%) and international jury voting (25%).[14][27] The Greek jury consisted of Marina Spanou (songwriter), Giannis Vassilopoulos (radio station director), Maria Iliaki[el] (journalist and presenter), Michalis Marinos[el] (actor) and Hara Kefala (vocal coach and music theatre performer), while the international jury consisted of Benedikt Wiehle (journalist at SWR3), Lasha Kapanadze (head of press for Georgia at Eurovision), Jelena Tomašević (Serbian singer), Ludovic Julien Hurel (head of press for France at Eurovision) and Andrei Zapșa (assistant general director and head of program of TRM). In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the guest performer was Christos Mastoras[el].[28]
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Greece