NEWS

Greece to pick Eurovision entry after overcoming cost concerns

Greece will hold a televised competition on Monday night to decide which entry it will send to the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest just a few months after it seemed the country would not take part due to costcutting at national broadcaster ERT.

The company only decided in January that Greece should take part, citing the event’s high television ratings and saying that private sponsorship would cover the cost of sending an entry to Sweden.

In November, government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou had suggested that Greece would not take part in Eurovision.

“Public television should not participate in the Eurovision contest out of respect for the overriding public sentiment,” he said in an interview with Vima radio.

Four songs will compete for a place in the competition: One Last Kiss sung by Thomai Apergi, Angel sung by Alex Leon featuring Giorgina, Alcohol Is Free sung by Koza Mostra & Agathonas Iakovidis and Hilies Kai Mia Nychtes (A thousand and one nights) sung by Aggeliki Iliadi.

“Our song talks about one of our nights when we went out and had some fun, but it also talks about in a metaphoric way about the crisis and everything going on in the last few years in Greece and in Europe,” Koza Mostra told Eurovision.tv

“It’s about getting away from all those problems.”

The winner will be elected by a 50/50 mix of televoting and jury vote.

Greece won the contest in 2005 with Helena Paparizou’s “My Number One.”

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