Report: Greece’s “Ethnikos Telikos 2026” Final Will Be on February 7th!

Greek media reports point to February 7th as the date of Greece’s “Ethnikos Telikos”, selecting the entry for Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria.

In addition to the journalist’s confirmation, the Greek Eurovision website eurovisionfun has also reported that “Ethnikos Telikos 2026” will be held on February 7th. ERT had planned to stage the selection during the first half of February, leaving only two possible dates: February 7th or February 14th. According to the website, the Greek national broadcaster ruled out February 14th as the final date for the national final. This option was dismissed for two main reasons: on February 14th, six other national finals are already scheduled in Estonia, Denmark, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania‘s fourth heat, and Sweden‘s third heat. An additional consideration is that February 14th coincides with the international holiday Valentine’s Day, when many viewers may choose to celebrate with their partners rather than watch a national final, potentially leading to a significant drop in ratings.

As previously reported, the songs and contestants for Greece’s Eurovision 2026 national final will be revealed on January 4th. Among the potential participants may be Xannova Xan, a Greek singer who submitted a song written by the acclaimed Israeli songwriter Keren Peles, who has penned the two most recent songs that represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest. The song’s producer is Tomer Biran, who also produced “New Day Will Rise“, performed by Yuval Raphael at Eurovision 2025, where the song achieved a highly respected second-place finish.

Tensions Rise

The Greek national final is approaching amid wider European debate surrounding participation in Eurovision 2026, alongside calls and withdrawals linked to Israel’s confirmed participation in the contest. These developments have also affected Greece. It was reported that two representatives of the employees of the Greek national broadcaster voted against Greece’s participation in Eurovision 2026 during a board meeting held on December 18th.

Despite these internal discussions, the Greek government has expressed full support for Israel’s participation, describing calls for exclusion as unacceptable and emphasizing a clear stance in favor of inclusion:

“Eurovision is a unifying music competition, and there is no place for political positions. The desire to exclude Israel from the contest is discrimination against Israelis and Jews”.

International Interest in the Line-Up

A total of 264 songs were submitted to “Ethnikos Telikos 2026”, but one in particular has drawn notable international attention. Israeli Composer Keren Peles has written a song produced by Tomer Biran and performed by Xannova Xan, a Greek singer who recently had an interview on our website. Fans will be watching closely on Jaunary 4th to see whether the song will be part of Greece’s national-final lineup for Eurovision 2026.

For watching the full interview with Xannova Xan – Press on the screen below!

Keren Peles for Greece?

The song, written as part of our collaboration with the Greek website eurovisionfun, has already been submitted to the Greek national broadcaster ERT. It is performed by Xannova Xan and produced by Tomer Biran. The song is a powerful and emotional ballad that clearly carries Keren Peles’s musical signature, though it sounds more “Eurovision-style” than anything she has previously presented for the contest.

The lyrics combine English and Greek, with the Greek section written not by Peles but by Poseidonas Giannopoulos, well known among Eurovision fans as the writer of the song “Secret Combination”, which represented Greece in 2008 and placed third. If the song is selected, it will mark the first time an Israeli songwriter represents Greece at Eurovision.

Expanded Format: Major Changes in the Greek National Selection

Last year’s “Ethnikos Telikos” was a massive success within Greece and beyond, with the January 30th, 2025 broadcast achieving the highest TV ratings in Greece for 15 years. The contest’s winner, Klavdia, brought Greece an impressive sixth place at Eurovision 2025, matching the country’s 2013 achievement – one not matched until this year.

According to information we got from Eurovisionfun, the “Ethnikos Telikos” expands this year to include two Semi-Finals in addition to the Final. 28 songs will compete: 14 in each Semi-Final. The outcome in the Semi-Finals will be determined solely by the public, who will select seven qualifiers from each Semi-Final for the Final. In the Final, 14 entries will compete, with voting once again split 50-50 between juries – equally divided between a domestic and an international panel – and the public. According to the broadcaster:

“Through an upgraded and open-to-all process, including two Semi-Finals and one Final, ERT moves forward with selecting the song and artist that will represent our country in the 70th Eurovision Song Contest. This follows the successful organization of last January’s national final and Greece’s excellent 6th place at Eurovision 2025, which achieved record ratings of the last 15 years. Specifically, up to 28 songs will compete across two Semi-Finals, from which 14 will qualify for the National Final, decided exclusively by the public. In the National Final, the winning song will be determined by both the audience and the juries, granting the performer the ticket to Vienna, where the 70th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in May 2026”.

Greece at Eurovision 2025

“Asteromáta” (translated as: “Eyes of Stars”) is the song performed by Klavdia, who represented Greece in the grand final of Eurovision 2025. Greece finished sixth in the grand final with 231 points.

Eurovision 2026: This will be Greece’s 46th 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”.