Greek national broadcaster ERT moves Sing for Greece 2027 to Thessaloniki, introducing an audience-only vote for the semi-finals.
A major surprise has been revealed for Eurovision fans in Greece: Greek national broadcaster ERT has officially announced that the local national final, “Sing for Greece 2027”, will move from Athens to Thessaloniki this coming February. The country’s second-largest city will take center stage in the domestic music scene, hosting the three live broadcasts that will determine the Greek entry for Eurovision 2027, set to take place in Burgas, Bulgaria, this coming May.
The production promises three evenings filled with music, popular songs, powerful performances, and numerous surprises. The two semi-finals and the grand final will be broadcast live across ERT television channels and on the digital streaming platform ERTFLIX, allowing audiences throughout Greece to closely follow the selection of the country’s entry.
Third Consecutive Year for the Hit Format – Outside the Capital
This marks the third consecutive year that the Greek national broadcaster is producing the “Sing for Greece” format. Over the past two seasons, the preselection attracted substantial interest and achieved exceptionally strong ratings on linear television, alongside impressive viewership numbers on the ERTFLIX streaming platform.
The decision to transfer this large-scale production to Thessaloniki reflects ERT’s commitment to spreading major cultural and entertainment events across the entire nation, bringing music closer to audiences beyond Athens and strengthening cultural ties with regional centers.
Semi-Finals Decided Exclusively by the Public: The 2027 Format
Under the 2027 structure, up to 20 songs will compete, divided across two semi-finals. From these, only 12 entries will qualify for the grand final. This represents a slight reduction in the number of participants compared to the 2026 preselection, where 28 songs competed across two semi-finals before singer Akylas was selected with the song “Ferto” (in English: “Bring it“).
The outcome of the semi-finals will be decided exclusively by the television audience (100% televoting), without any jury involvement. In the grand final, however, the voting system will change: the winning entry and Greece’s representative for Eurovision in Bulgaria will be selected through a weighted combination of public televoting and jury scoring.
This coming February, Thessaloniki will become the central meeting hub for the Greek music scene, hosting an event set to deliver memorable moments and officially launch Greece’s path toward Burgas.
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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Neta Geffen is a respected journalist at Euromix, Israel’s leading news site for Eurovision coverage. Since 2010, Neta has been closely following the Eurovision Song Contest, bringing with him extensive experience, profound knowledge, and a broad understanding of the history, politics, and cultural influences that shape the event every year.
Neta publishes articles, analyses, and up-to-date reviews on all Eurovision developments, including musical trends, format changes, political influences, and audience reactions across Europe and Israel. Thanks to a deep connection to the contest’s history, Neta provides readers with wide-ranging context—from the impact of political events on results, to in-depth analyses of songs and languages within the competition. Neta specializes particularly in the Eurovision rock genre, Balkan ballads, and native language entries, with a special focus on Italian and Greek songs.
