1970s to 1990s (pictured in 2006) was the first representative for Greece at their contest debut in
1974. In 1974, during
the Greek military junta, rock band
Nostradamos won the first Eurovision participation contest ran by the state broadcaster EIRT to represent Greece at Eurovision, after broadcasting it since . However, due to a scandal, the band was not allowed to compete at Eurovision, and Greek
laiko singer
Marinella was sent instead. On 3 December 1975, EIRT was replaced by ERT. Three years after Greece's debut in the contest, the country achieved its first top-five result with the song "Mathima solfege" (Solfege Lesson) performed by
Bessy, Paschalis, Marianna and Robert in 1977. The decade closed with Greece reaching eighth place twice in 1978 and 1979 with the songs "Charlie Chaplin" and "". Greece was disqualified from the
Eurovision Song Contest 1982 after it was revealed that Themis Adamantidis was to sing "", a previously released song. A known Greek folk song, it had been revised for the competition, but this violated the rules which stated that all songs had to be original in terms of songwriting and instrumentation and cannot be
cover songs. Greece was forced to pay a fine and was allowed to return the following year. Had Adamantidis been allowed to perform, he would have appeared second at
Harrogate. After returning in 1983, ERT stated that all of the possible songs were of "low quality" and decided not to participate in the contest. Greece returned once more to the contest in 1985, and
Polina was selected in the 1986 national selection to represent Greece at the contest in
Bergen, 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 with the band
Bang reaching 10th place. Overall the country reached three times top-ten in the 80s, with the other two songs being "" in 1981 and "" in 1989. During the 1990s, Greece achieved two top-ten results with
Cleopatra and
Katy Garbi reaching fifth and ninth place in 1992 and 1993 respectively. The nation performed each year until the
Eurovision Song Contest 1999, when it was relegated from participation. This was as its five-year points average had fallen under the limit for participation after Thalassa's 20th-place finish in 1998. The following year, ERT announced that it would not return at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2000 (even though it was eligible to, having broadcast the 1999 contest on television) due to financial reasons.
2000s (pictured in 2010) represented Greece at the 2001 (as part of
Antique) and 2005 contests, winning the latter. Greece returned in
2001, and was represented by the Greek-Swedish duo
Antique, consisting
Helena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis. Their song "
Die for You" was selected through
Ellinikós Telikós 2001 and placed third at the
2001 contest, a new record for highest placing for the nation. Following two 17th place entries in
2002 and
2003 by Michalis Rakintzis ("S.A.G.A.P.O.") and
Mando ("Never Let You Go"), respectively, ERT internally selected
Sakis Rouvas for
2004. Rouvas' song "
Shake It" was the first to compete in a contest semi-final, which had been introduced to accommodate the growing number of participating nations. After qualifying to the final, the song tied what had been the nation's best performance at the time, placing third. Thirty-one years after its debut, Greece won for the first time in
2005 with Helena Paparizou (appearing as a solo performer) singing "
My Number One". The entry's 230 points tied the record for the most top
twelve points allocated to a song (ten in total), matching
Katrina and the Waves'
1997 song "
Love Shine a Light". The victory made Greece the first country that was not a member of
Big Four to win the contest without participating in a semi-final. After Eurovision, the song topped the charts in Greece, Cyprus as well as Sweden and entered the top ten in Romania, the Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, as well as the American
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart. Later that year, contest organisers held a commemorative program,
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, to celebrate 50 years of the contest. At the event, "My Number One" came fourth in a vote for the show's most popular entry, behind "
Hold Me Now" (1987), "" (1958) and
ABBA's "
Waterloo" (1974). The nation's 2005 win earned Greece the opportunity to host the
Eurovision Song Contest 2006. Rouvas and
Greek American presenter
Maria Menounos hosted the event, which was staged in
Athens at the
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall. The singer representing Greece was 1980's Greek entrant Vissi, who achieved ninth place with the song "
Everything". Until the end of the decade Greece achieved three more top-ten results, including seventh place by
Sarbel with "
Yassou Maria" in
2007 and third place by
Kalomira with "
Secret Combination" in
2008. From 2004 to 2006, ERT had selected high-profile artists internally and set up national finals to choose the song, while in
2007 and
2008 it held a televised national final to choose both the song and performer. For the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, ERT was able to secure a high-profile artist once again and planned a national final to choose the song. The song voted by the public was "
This Is Our Night", another song performed by Sakis Rouvas, which eventually reached seventh place. Greece has been one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest in the 21st century with 12 times finishing in the top-ten and 20 in total.
2010s At the
2010 contest, Greece finished eighth with the song "", followed by a seventh place in
2011 with "
Watch My Dance". After
Eleftheria Eleftheriou placed 17th in with her song "Aphrodisiac", Greece achieved its 10th top-ten result of the century and 18th in total in
2013, finishing sixth with the song "
Alcohol Is Free" by
Koza Mostra and
Agathonas Iakovidis. In
2014, Greece finished in 20th place, which, along with 1998, were the country's worst result in the contest at that time. Greece was one of only three countries (along with Romania and Russia) to have never failed to qualify from the semifinals since their 2004 introduction (2004–15). In addition, Greece also qualified from the 1996 audio-only pre-qualifying round. In 2013, ERT was shut down by a government directive and replaced with the interim
Dimosia Tileorasi (DT) and later by the NERIT broadcaster. During this time, from 2013 through 2015, the Greek television station
MAD TV organised the selection process. 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, and shortly after confirmed their intentions to once again participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. For 2016, ERT selected the Eurovision entry internally. They selected the band
Argo with the song "
Utopian Land". For the first time since the semi-finals were introduced in 2004, Greece failed to qualify for the final, after finishing 16th in the first semi-final. In 2017, ERT selected the composer
Dimitris Kontopoulos and the choreographer
Fokas Evangelinos internally. They chose
Demy for representing Greece in Kyiv. ERT agreed, and on 6 March 2017, Greece chose their song via a national final. Three songs were competed: "Angels", "This Is Love" and "When the Morning Comes Around". The final result was combined by 70% from televoting and by 30% from international juries from nine countries. Finally, "This Is Love" gained 70% and won the national final. At Eurovision, she qualified for the Grand Final, where she finished in 19th place with 77 points. For 2018, the Greek broadcaster decided to hold a national final to choose the Greek entry to
Lisbon and was to take place on 22 February 2018. However, on 16 February 2018 ERT confirmed
Yianna Terzi as the Greek representative for the 2018 contest following the disqualification of Areti Ketime and Chorostalites, with the selected song being "". In Lisbon, Greece failed to qualify for the grand final for the second time on its participation history. In 2019, ERT selected internally
Katerine Duska to represent Greece in
Tel Aviv with the song "
Better Love" finishing 21st. It was later revealed that Greece placed fifth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 185 points.
2020s In 2020, ERT once again decided to select the Greek entry internally. Seven acts were shortlisted to represent Greece in
Rotterdam, including Irini Papadopoulou,
Stefania, Ian Stratis, and the boy band
One, with Stefania ultimately being announced as the entrant on 3 February 2020 with the song "
Supergirl". Greece was drawn to compete in the second semi-final and was to perform in the first position, but on 18 March, the contest was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The EBU announced soon after that entries intended for 2020 would not be eligible for the following year, though each broadcaster would be able to send either their 2020 representative or a new one. ERT responded that its intention was to continue its cooperation with Stefania for the
next contest in 2021. It was also announced that the same team that was responsible for the songwriting and the choreography of the 2020 entry would also be used for the 2021 contest, and that the song would be selected internally. The selected song, "
Last Dance", an 80's-pop song, premiered for the first time on 10 March 2021. The entry placed sixth in the second semi-final and qualified to the final, where it finished in 10th place with 170 points. For 2022, ERT opened a submission period on 7 September 2021 where artists and composers were able to submit up to three songs each for consideration by the broadcaster with a 10 October 2021 deadline. 25 artists were reported to have submitted applications from a total of more than 40 entries, and a seven-member jury panel shortlisted five entrants in late October 2021. On 15 December 2021, the committee selected the Greek-Norwegian artist
Amanda Tenfjord with the song "
Die Together" to represent the country in
Turin. Greece managed to qualify from the first semi-final, placing third, and finished in eighth place in the final with 215 points: 57 points from the televoting and 158 points from the juries. This was the best placement for the nation in the final since its sixth-place finish in . In
2023,
Victor Vernicos represented the nation with the song "
What They Say". Competing in the second semi-final, Greece did not qualify for the final for the third time in its history. The song received nationwide controversies with the shortlisted artist Melissa Mantzoukis taking legal action against the potential rigging of the results, including a 15th place of her submitted song "
Liar" in the upcoming contest, represented by
Silia Kapsis for
Cyprus. The Greek audience responded demanding a return of the national final. In 2024, ERT opted again for an internal selection in 2024, announcing
Marina Satti as the Greek representative on 24 October 2023. She finished fifth in the semi-final and ultimately came 11th in the final with 126 points. In 2025, ERT returned its national final,
Ethnikós Telikós, that took place on 30 January 2025, where
Asteromata by
Klavdia was chosen. She managed to finish 6th in the grand final, marking the country's highest result since 2013, and the second highest score of its participation. Due to the success and the highly recorded viewing figures of the nation, ERT announced a revamped version of Ethnikós Telikós for the upcoming editions. ==Voting==