Eurovision 2005 winner Helena Paparizou and Greece’s Eurovision representative in 2004 and 2009 Sakis Rouvas will host the Greek national final on January 29, selecting Greece’s entry for Eurovision 2025 in Basel.
After selecting its representatives internally for the past 22 years, Greece will hold an open national final this year to choose its entry for Eurovision 2025 in Basel. Amidst growing excitement and rumors about the competing artists, the hosts for the national final, set to take place on January 29, have recently been revealed. Two well-known Eurovision stars in Greece will lead the broadcast: Eurovision 2005 winner Helena Paparizou and Greece’s two-time Eurovision representative Sakis Rouvas.
Eurovision Backgrounds of the Hosts
Helena and Sakis have rich backgrounds in the Eurovision world, which they will utilize to host the Greek national final for 2025 this coming January. Here’s what you need to know about these two Greek Eurovision legends ahead of their new role:
Helena Paparizou is Greece’s most recognized and beloved Eurovision representative, and for good reason. Helena brought Greece its first (and so far, only) victory in the contest after 25 years of participation. She swept first place in the 2005 competition held in Kyiv, Ukraine, with the song “My Number One”. Since then, Helena has become a Greek Eurovision legend with a devoted fan base. She even participated in one of the interval acts at Eurovision 2024 held six months ago in Malmö. Helena was also a potential candidate to represent Greece at the recent Eurovision 2024, but after declining, the offer went to the next candidate on the list, Marina Satti, who ultimately represented Greece in the last contest in Sweden. Helena recently announced that she wouldn’t hesitate to return to Eurovision in the future if the right song is found.
Sakis Rouvas is a well-known Greek Eurovision star and one of the most successful singers in Greece. Sakis represented Greece at Eurovision the year before Helena, in 2004, with the song “Shake It“, finishing third in the competition. After hosting Eurovision held in the Greek capital Athens in 2006 following Helena’s victory, he was chosen again to represent the country at Eurovision 2009 held in Moscow, Russia, reaching a respectable seventh place with the song “This Is Our Night“.
National Final Details
The Greek national broadcaster ERT recently announced that 187 songs were submitted for the selection process. The submitted songs represent a wide range of genres and musical styles, from traditional and folk music to modern pop, rock, and dance songs, reflecting the great diversity in the Greek music industry. The voting format in the national final will include a combination of Greek judges and international professional judges to create a balanced result and representation of experts from around the world. Each group of judges will hold 25% of the final result, while the public vote will account for the remaining 50%. The list of participants in the national final and additional details about the selection event are expected to be revealed soon.
Greece in Eurovision 2024
“Zari” is the title of the song performed by singer Marina Satti, who was selected through an internal selection process by the Greek national broadcaster. Greece qualified for the final after placing fifth in the second semi-final with 86 points, and in the grand final, they finished in 11th place with 126 points.
Source: Tovima.
Eurovision 2025: This will mark Greece’s 45th participation in Eurovision. Greece joined the competition in 1974 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2005 when singer Helena Paparizou won first place with the song “My Number One”.
