Greece’s representative at Eurovision 2026, Akylas, shares in an interview about his experiences in Vienna, overcoming fears, the tense atmosphere in the green room, and one amusing conversation with the Finnish representatives.
Exactly one month after Eurovision 2026 came to an end with the Greek entry, Akylas, reaching a respectable tenth place in the grand final, the singer shared insights in a new interview. He discussed the ups and downs of his journey to Vienna, the tense atmosphere, and the sense of confusion felt by the Greek delegation during the dramatic grand final voting sequence.
“It Was a Personal Victory For Me”
During his appearance on the Greek talk show “The 2Night Show”, Akylas spoke about the staging of the performance and the courage required to bring that specific vision to life. The singer initially shared that during his first meeting with Greek artistic director Fokas Evangelinos, the director asked if he had any phobias or fears. Akylas chose not to reveal his fears to Evangelinos because he did not want to interfere with the director’s creative vision, despite suffering from an extreme fear of heights.
Additionally, he shared that when he stood on the high prop during the emotional climax of the song, he was terrified, adding: “I truly wondered how I was going to get down. Pushing those boundaries was a huge personal victory for me.”
“What is Actually Happening Here?”
Later in the interview, the singer spoke about the tense atmosphere and the sense of confusion that arose during the highly dramatic announcement of the final results. Akylas stated that while the jury votes were being announced, he and the members of the Greek delegation sat in the Green Room and were shocked by the low scores they received, sharing that they did not expect it at all.
Regarding their feelings during that stressful moment, he said: “We kept telling ourselves they were only doing it to build the suspense, we were frozen. I kept asking the others, ‘What is actually happening here?’” He explained that betting agencies had convinced him and the delegation of their potential success for so long after he won the Greek national selection, that they were all initially confident that victory was a realistic scenario and that it could actually happen.
“The Finns and I Were Delusional”
During the interview, he went on to describe an amusing situation involving the Finnish entries, Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen. The singer shared that during the moments of euphoria at the final, just before the results were announced, the duo turned to him and expressed their belief that Eurovision would head to Greece next year. In response, the singer replied that he would also have no problem traveling to Finland. “The extent to which the Finnish representatives and I were delusional was amazing,” he said, referring to the actual results where both countries finished lower than expected.
Akylas concluded the interview by reflecting on the long journey he experienced and where he stands today. He described it as a defining chapter in his career, noting that following his victory in the Greek national selection and the privilege of representing Greece at Eurovision, his life has completely transformed.
Greece at Eurovision 2026
“Ferto” (in English: “Bring it”) was the song performed by the singer Akylas, which represented Greece in Vienna, Austria. The song, co-written by Akylas and Teo Pouzbouris, known as Freaky Fortune, one of Greece’s representatives at Eurovision 2014. The song finished tenth in the grand final, recieving 220 points. Which split to 73 points from the jury, placing him 12th, and 147 points from the public, placing him sixth.
Eurovision 2027: This will be Greece’s 47th 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”.
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Nicole Postelnik is a reporter and commentator specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. She has been following the competition since 2015, and since then, her love for Eurovision has grown stronger year after year.
