Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002

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Eurovision Song Contest 2002
Country Greece
National selection
Selection processEllinikós Telikós 2002
Selection date(s)26 February 2002
Selected entrantMichalis Rakintzis
Selected song"S.A.G.A.P.O."
Selected songwriter(s)Michalis Rakintzis
Finals performance
Final result17th, 27 points
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2001 • 2002 • 2003►

Greece competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002, held on 25 May 2002 at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, Estonia. The Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) organised a public selection process entitled Ellinikós Telikós 2002 to determine its entry for the contest. Held on 26 February 2002 in Athens, the event saw 10 entries compete to be the Greek entry; the results were determined by a combination of jury, SMS and televoting. The song "S.A.G.A.P.O.", written and performed by Michalis Rakintzis received the most votes and was selected to represent the nation. Greece performed fourth out of the 24 countries competing in the contest and placed 17th with 27 points.

Background

Main article: Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest

The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) is the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) member for Greece and is responsible for selection of the nation's entry.[1][2] Prior to the 2002 contest, Greece had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since its debut entry in 1974. To this point, the nation achieved its best placing at the previous contest in 2001, where Antique placed third with the song "Die for You". Greece's least successful result was in 1998 when it placed 20th with the song "Mia krifi evaisthisia" by Thalassa, receiving only twelve points in total, all from Cyprus.[3]

Before Eurovision

Ellinikós Telikós 2002

Ellinikós Telikós 2002 was the Greek national final developed by ERT to select the Greek entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. The competition, hosted by Dafni Bokota and directed by Dafni Tzaferi, took place on 26 February 2002 at the REX Music Hall in Athens; it was broadcast on television station ET1, radio station Second Programme and via the ERT website.[4] Ten candidate entries competed over two rounds of voting. After the first round consisting of all ten candidate entries, jury voting selected five to proceed to the second round. The winner of the event was then selected by a 50/50 combination of jury voting and public televoting. The six-member jury consisted of Giorgos Katsaros (composer and jury president), Antonis Andrikakis (General Director of ERA), Giorgos Kyvelos (producer and advisor to the ERT president), Lefteris Koggalidis (communications, promotions and public relations at ERT), Bokota (television presenter) and Sinia Kousoula (international relations at ERT).[4][5] During the voting phase, 2002 Cypriot Eurovision representatives One performed as the special guests and video clips of previous Greek Eurovision entrants were shown, including Marinella's "Krasi, thalassa ke t'agori mou" (1974), Paschalis, Marianna, Robert and Bessy's "Mathima solfege" (1977), Tania Tsanaklidou's "Charlie Chaplin" (1978), Elpida's "Sokrati" (1979), Anna Vissi and the Epikouri's "Autostop" (1980), Bang's "Stop" (1987), Sophia Vossou's "I anixi" (1991), Cleopatra's "Olou tou kosmou i Elpida" (1992), Katy Garbi's "Ellada, hora tou fotos" (1993) and Antique's "Die for You" (2001).[5]

Prior to the event, ERT opened a submissions window for Greek composers, lyricists, and performers to submit their original songs for consideration by 17 December 2001.[6][7] By the close of the submissions window, 158 songs had been submitted; the ten songs for the event were then selected by the six-member jury and were announced on 10 January 2002.[8][9][10] Nearly 95,000 votes were cast during the show and when the combined results were presented, it was revealed that "S.A.G.A.P.O." performed by Michalis Rakintzis, was the winner.[5]

First Round – 26 February 2002[5][8]
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Kostas Bigalis and Mirella Fragkopoulou "Let Me Be the One" Kostas Bigalis Advanced
2 Veronika "Tu non c'eri qui" Charalampos Persidis Eliminated
3 Yiannis Kokkinos, Flora Theodorou, Ermioni Komninou and Tolis Kokkinos "Pension – Sweet Home" Christos Konstantinidis, Panagiotis Kalkos Eliminated
4 Christos Giannopoulos "Proti fthinoporini vrochi" (Πρώτη φθινοπωρινή βροχή) Christos Giannopoulos Eliminated
5 Maria-Louiza and Not 4 Sale "2 Be Together" Nikos Terzis, Antonis Pappas Advanced
6 Peggy Zina "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" Thanos Kalliris Advanced
7 Elina Konstantopoulou and Marion Georgiou "Beautiful Life" Konstantinos Tseleste Papakonstantinou, Iro Trigoni Eliminated
8 Michalis Rakintzis "S.A.G.A.P.O." Michalis Rakintzis Advanced
9 Katerina Topazi "Moiazei na 'nai sinema/Y tu cruel" (Μοιάζει να 'ναι σινεμά) Ioannis Stinkas, Dimitris Sotakis, Xenofon Chalatsis Eliminated
10 Motive "Fire" Giannis Methenitis Advanced
Second Round – 26 February 2002[4][5]
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points
1 Kostas Bigalis and Mirella Fragkopoulou "Let Me Be the One" 4 12,736 4 8 4
2 Maria-Louiza and Not 4 Sale "2 Be Together" 2 12,936 3 5 2
3 Peggy Zina "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" 3 25,517 2 5 2
4 Michalis Rakintzis "S.A.G.A.P.O." 1 33,356 1 2 1
5 Motive "Fire" 5 9,796 5 10 5

Reception

In the days following Rakintzis' selection, Greek press reported on an issue during the televoting phase in that while the process and phone numbers were explained, the host never announced the commencement of the voting period. Additionally, the singer was accused of using playback for the performance and it was noted that there were sound problems overall.[11][12][13][14] At a press conference held by the artist, Rakintzis stated that he was willing to resign from being the Greek entrant due to the voting issue, but ERT had responded that if he were to not represent the nation, then they would pull out of the contest. Rakintzis subsequently opted to remain the Greek entrant.[11][13][15] Following his selection, Rakintzis opted to not organise a promotional tour to other countries, believing that music had nothing to do with advertising.[16]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 took place at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, Estonia.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 took place at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, Estonia, on 25 May 2002.[17] The participants list included the previous year's winning country, the "Big Four" countries, consisting of France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, any eligible countries which did not compete in the 2001 contest, and countries which had obtained the highest average points total at the previous year's contest, up to 24 total participants.[18] As Greece placed third at the 2001 contest, it was permitted to participate this year.[3][18] Bokota provided commentary for the broadcast within Greece, a task she had performed for ERT since the 1999 contest.[19]

For the performance, Rakintzis was joined by four vocalists/musicians: Giannis Karmas (keyboards), Michalis Kyriakidis (guitar), Nikos Menemenoglou (drums) and Terry Mavridis (bass).[12][20] The ensemble took part in rehearsals for the performance during the week of 20-25 May 2002, which concluded with the final dress rehearsal on 25 May where the national juries of each country viewed the performances and recorded their votes.[18] They performed fourth in the running order at the contest and wore "militaristic" leather outfits which were designed by Rakintzis.[21][22][23] The outfits would later earn Rakintzis the Barbara Dex Award for worst-dressed act at the year's contest.[24][25] The song finished 17th out of 24 with 27 points, receiving points from four of the 24 participating countries.[26] Greek press was critical of the song and its performance.[27][28] Following the contest at a press conference in Athens, Rakintzis stated "I came close to throwing down my microphone and walking off the stage," commenting on the sound quality of the performance which he claimed was responsible for his low contest placement.[15][16] The Eurovision committee later released a statement that "there was no technical problem with the sound, if there was a problem it was with the singer."[15]

Voting

See also: Voting in the Eurovision Song Contest

Voting during the show involved each country awarding points from 1-8, 10 and 12 as determined by either 100% televoting or a combination of 50% televoting and 50% national jury. In cases where televoting was not possible, only the votes of the eight-member national juries were tabulated.[18] Greece received 27 points, which included the top 12 points from Cyprus, to which the nation also awarded its 12 points.[29] Alexis Kostalas [el] was the Greek spokesperson announcing the country's voting results during the show, a task he had performed since the 1998 contest.[30] The tables below visualise a complete breakdown of the points awarded to and awarded by Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002.

References

  1. ^ Paravantes, Maria (11 June 2005). "Joy In Greece Over Eurovision Win". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 24. p. 17. Retrieved 16 January 2009 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Floras, Stella (11 June 2013). "Greece shuts down public broadcaster ERT". ESCToday. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Countries – Greece". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "H ελληνική συμμετοχή" (in Greek). Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). Archived from the original on 22 June 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e Ελληνικός Τελικός Eurovision 2002 (Television production) (in Greek). Dimosia Tileorasi (DT). 5 March 2014 [26 February 2002]. Retrieved 31 August 2022 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Πρόσκληση στον Παν. Διαγ. Τραγουδιού" (Press release) (in Greek). Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). Archived from the original on 17 August 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Greeks start search for 2002 winner". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 20 December 2001. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Φιναλίστ Πανελληνίου Διαγωνισμού Τραγουδιού" (in Greek). Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). Archived from the original on 22 June 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  9. ^ Bakker, Sietse (10 January 2002). "Greece announced 10 songs and participants". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Ta 10 ellhnika fabori gia th Eurovision" (in Greek). Hellenic Radio (ERA). 11 January 2002. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Rakintzis - I will not let down fans". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 6 March 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Παρασκήνια 2002: Μπάχαλα, τηλεπαράθυρα και καταγγελίες για κακή ηχοληψία και playback". INFE Greece (in Greek). 13 February 2017. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  13. ^ a b Bakker, Sietse (28 February 2002). "After doubts, Rakintzis will represent Greece". ESCToday. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Θρίαμβος της Λετονίας!" (in Greek). Music Corner. 26 May 2002. Archived from the original on 7 June 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  15. ^ a b c Howden, Daniel (31 May 2002). "Greece sounds off over Eurovision". BBC News. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  16. ^ a b Zervas, Pavlos (27 May 2002). "Σκέψεις..." (in Greek). Music Corner. Archived from the original on 14 June 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Tallinn 2002–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  18. ^ a b c d "Rules of the Eurovision Song Contest 2002" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 28 September 2001. Retrieved 30 August 2022 – via myledbury.co.uk.
  19. ^ "Eurovision 2020: Γιώργος Καπουτζίδης -Μαρία Κοζάκου στον σχολιασμό του διαγωνισμού για την ΕΡΤ" (in Greek). Matrix24. 12 February 2020. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Αποκλειστική συνέντευξη του Μ. Ρακιντζή" (in Greek). Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). Archived from the original on 17 August 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  21. ^ Kübar, Remu (29 November 2002). "Rakintzis: It's just an inspiration". ESCToday. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  22. ^ Kübar, Remu (29 November 2002). "Greek military outlook calls for peace (pics!)". ESCToday. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  23. ^ "Η πρώτη συνέντευξη του Μ. Ρακιντζή στην Εσθονία" (in Greek). Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 August 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  24. ^ Jensen, Charlotte (20 May 2018). "Worst dressed act? Eye Cue wins Barbara Dex award". EuroVisionary. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  25. ^ Adams, William Lee (9 July 2015). "Poll: Who was the worst dressed Barbara Dex Award winner?". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  26. ^ "Final of Tallinn 2002". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  27. ^ "Άνοιξε η Eurovision και τους κατάπιε: Έλληνες τραγουδιστές που έσβησαν μετά τη λάμψη". Ethnos (in Greek). 13 May 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  28. ^ Athanasiou, Katerina (14 May 2022). "Οι 12 ελληνικές συμμετοχές που ξεχώρισαν στην ιστορία της Eurovision". Proto Thema (in Greek). Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  29. ^ a b c "Results of the Final of Tallinn 2002". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  30. ^ "Αλέξης Κωστάλας: Δείτε πού τον εντοπίσαμε μετά από καιρό!". Gossip-tv.gr (in Greek). 19 February 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
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