Greece has announced the song that will represent the country at the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song is called ‘Zari’ and is performed by Marina Satti.
It was revealed during a special evening show hosted by Fotis Sergoulopoulos and Jenny Melita and broadcast on ERT 1, Greece’s public TV. The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place in Malmo, Sweden, in May, and Greece will compete in the first half of the second semi-final on May 9th
Greece’s Performer for Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Marina Satti was born on December 26, 1986 in Athens to a Greek mother and a Sudanese father. She was raised on the island of Crete and started learning to play the piano at a young age before learning classical singing in high school.
Satti continued her musical studies at the Nakas Conservatory in Athens and the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and in 2016, she released her debut single Koupes (Cups). A year later, she released Mantissa (Fortune Teller), which hit the number one spot on the Greek singles chart.
Later in 2017, Satti founded Fones, an all-female acapella group that performs traditional polyphonic songs and chores, a choir comprised of 150 women aged 13 to 55. In 2022, she released her debut album YENNA, which was commercially and critically acclaimed.
How the Country Has Fared in the Past
During the 1990s, Greece finished in the top-ten spot twice at the Eurovision Song Contest with Cleopatra and Katy Garbi reaching fifth and ninth place in 1992 and 1993, respectively. The country competed each year until 1999, when it was relegated from participation. This was because Greece’s five-year points average had fallen below the limit for participation after Thalassa’s 20th-place finish in 1998.
The following year, ERT announced it would not return for the Eurovision Song Contest 2000, despite its eligibility, due to financial reasons.
Greece returned to the contest in 2001, represented by the Greek-Swedish duo Antique, comprised of Helena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis. Their song “Die for You” was selected through the national final Ellinikos Telikos 2001 and placed third at the 2001 contest, a new record for the country.
Then, 31 years after its debut, Greece won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2005, with Helena Paparizou singing “My Number One,” which at the time tied for the record for the highest number of twelve points awarded to the song (10).
The song also meant Greece was the first country that wasn’t a member of the Big Four to win the contest without going through a semi-final. After Eurovision, the song topped the charts in Greece, Cyprus, and Sweden and entered the top ten in Romania, the Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, as well as the American Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart.
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