Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

ERT announced that they would be selecting their artist for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 internally. Sakis Rouvas was again approached by ERT in August or September 2006, however, he declined as there was no reason for him to go especially when Greece was the reigning champion (making chances of winning little to none), despite having considered it briefly.[6] Nevertheless, Rouvas accepted to co-host the 2006 contest after ERT still wanted him involved in some way, which he "found it intriguing", and that it would challenge him.[7][8] On 27 November 2004, MAD TV reported that Despina Vandi, who had previously been asked in 2005, was "seriously considering" to represent Greece in the 2006 contest after having possibly been approached by ERT.[9][10]

On 12 December 2005, Star Channel reported that Anna Vissi, who previously stated that she "never [excludes] a Eurovision Song Contest participation as long as everything is organized well", would soon be approached by ERT.[11] On 24 January 2006, ERT confirmed Anna Vissi as the Greek representative for the 2006 contest.[12][13] Vissi had previously represented Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 and Cyprus at the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, placing thirteenth and fifth respectively.[14] She had also attempted to take part in the contest in previous years, either failing to win against other artists or having deals not materializing. In a press interview, she said the final decision took so long to be announced because she was still debating entering, having to use opinion polls along with talking to her usual collaborators.[15]

Following the announcement of Anna Vissi as the Eurovision 2006 representative, ERT revealed that Vissi would perform four or five songs during a national final, titled Feel the Party.[16] Four songs, three upbeat songs and a ballad, were ultimately selected and announced on 10 March 2006.[17][18]

The final took place on 14 March 2006 at the Votanikos Music Hall in Athens, hosted by Giorgos Kapoutzidis and Zeta Makripoulia.[19][20] Anna Vissi performed all four songs and the winning song, "Everything", was selected by a combination of public voting (60%) and jury voting (40%).[21] The jury consisted of Mimis Plessas, Antonis Andrikakis, Dimitris Starovas, Themos Anastasiadis, Christina Politi, Evangelia Piskera, Antonis Karatzikos, Rena Kapitsala, and a ninth aggregate press jury vote consisting of Sietse Bakker (ESCToday) and Fotis Konstantopoulos (Oikotimes). Public voting was conducted through telephone or SMS. After the announcement of "Everything" as the winning song, Vissi pledged to sing the song "from the heart and give all her best for Greece". She also stated that she liked all four songs.[21][22]

In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval acts featured guest performances by 2006 Cypriot Eurovision entrant Annet Artani, 2006 Maltese Eurovision entrant Fabrizio Faniello, 2006 Norwegian Eurovision entrant Christine Guldbrandsen, 2006 Romanian Eurovision entrant Mihai Trăistariu and 2006 Turkish Eurovision entrant Sibel Tuzun.[23] A compilation of former Greek Eurovision entries such as "Mathima Solfege", "Stop", "I Anixi" and "(I Would) Die for You" were shown on a large screen along with a video message by 2006 Eurovision host Maria Menounos as well as personal messages from former Greek Eurovision representatives Sakis Rouvas, Helena Paparizou and Nana Mouskouri.[21][22]

Before her appearance at the contest, Vissi went on a promotional tour, singing her song in several Eurovision countries.

The first stop was Moscow on 25 March 2006, Greek Independence Day, and she attended a reception at the Greek embassy. She stayed for three days, gave seven television appearances and three newspaper interviews, and posed for several magazines.[24] Following Russia, Vissi traveled to Malta and then Cyprus where she performed at a large club in Nicosia.[25] Cyprus was followed by Albania, where she appeared at the "Albania Awards Kult", an awards show, and also gave a few interviews. The next stop was Serbia and Montenegro, followed by Romania.[24] By the end of April, Vissi had visited Sweden where she gave several more interviews to the local press.[26] Bosnia and Herzegovina was next at the beginning of May, followed by Belgium on the fourth. She met with Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Panteleimon of Belgium to whom she offered an autographed copy of her CD single "Everything" after having spoken to the media. Vissi then attended a reception at the Greek embassy before meeting up with Belgium entrant Kate Ryan, with whom she visited a chocolate museum.[27] After Belgium, Vissi returned to Greece for a break before leaving for Israel, the last stop on the tour, where she remained for ten days.[28]

On 25 April 2006, Vissi re-released her most recent album at the time, Nylon, as Nylon: Euro Edition, to include the four tracks from the national final and to coincide with the ongoing international promotional tour. At the same time, "Welcome to the Party" had entered the American market, already being played on some radio stations.[29]

As the winning country of the 2005 edition, Greece was automatically qualified for the final of the 2006 contest, and was drawn to present its song 16th on the night of the final, after the United Kingdom and before Finland.[12][33]

At the final, held on May 20, 2006, Anna Vissi appeared on stage surrounded by a fog effect created by dry ice. She was alone on the large stage and wore an exclusive Jean Paul Gaultier black and white outfit with black leggings. By the end of the song, she was down on her knees singing.[34] Her choreography for the final was arranged by Mia Michaels.[35] Although considered a favorite, she finished in an honorable ninth position, making Greece only one of two countries that were automatically in the final that managed a top 10 position. She received 128 points, including the coveted "douze points" from Bulgaria and Cyprus.

Semifinal 12 points  Cyprus 10 points  Armenia 8 points  Finland 7 points  Albania 6 points  Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 points  Russia 4 points  Ukraine 3 points  Bulgaria 2 points  Poland 1 point  Lithuania

Final 12 points  Finland 10 points  Armenia 8 points  Russia 7 points  Romania 6 points  Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 points  Ukraine 4 points  Lithuania 3 points  Turkey 2 points  Norway 1 point  Moldova

[36] The ninth-place finish guaranteed Greece a place in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.[37]