Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998
Greece was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Mia krifi evaisthisia", composed by Yiannis Valvis, with lyrics by Yiannis Malachias, and performed by Thalassa. The Greek participating broadcaster, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, selected its entry through a national final.
Performing second in the running order at the contest, they finished in 20th place out of the 25 countries competing. This marked a new record for the least successful placement for Greece.
Background
Prior to the 1998 contest, the National Radio Television Foundation in 1974, and the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation since 1975, had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Greece 20 times since EIRT debut in. By 1998, their best result was fifth place which was achieved twice: with the song "Mathima solfege" performed by the band Paschalis, Marianna, Robert and Bessy and in with "Olou tou kosmou i Elpida" performed by Cleopatra. Their least successful result was in when it placed 19th with the song "Horis skopo" by Christos Callow and Wave, receiving only 11 points in total.Before Eurovision
National final
Before the final, ERT held eight semi-finals at its television studios in Athens, hosted by Giorgos Marinos. Televoting selected the winning song in each semi-final to qualify for the final.Semi-finals
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Yiannis Haniotakis | "Gynekes" | 1,799 | 3 |
| 2 | Marianna Efstratiou | "Ekleges gia mena" | 3,438 | 2 |
| 3 | Katerina Kourentzi | "Na ziso to fili" | 3,890 | 1 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Kostas Katsigiannis | "Me ekatonpeninta" | 2,086 | 3 |
| 2 | Theodoros Zaharis | "Tha s'agapo" | 5,609 | 1 |
| 3 | Dionysis Schinas | "Palies agapes" | 4,102 | 2 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Haralampos Kavalieros | "Agapi pou pote" | 3,218 | 2 |
| 2 | Evi Dikou | "San oneiro" | 2,156 | 3 |
| 3 | Dionysia Karoki and Thalassa | "Mia krifi evaisthisia" | 9,226 | 1 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Stamatis Papadakis | "Erota sofe" | 1,423 | 2 |
| 2 | Yiannis Haniotakis | "An itan i agapi" | 1,382 | 3 |
| 3 | Hara Konstantinou | "Fantasia mou" | 3,323 | 1 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Victor Polydorou | "Melodia" | 3,383 | 2 |
| 2 | Iro Lehouriti | "Tipota" | 5,232 | 1 |
| 3 | Yiannis Drakopoulos | "Alexandra" | 1,366 | 3 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Marianna Efstratiou | "Opos i vrochi" | 3,199 | 2 |
| 2 | Stavros Siolas | "Agapi moni" | 1,861 | 3 |
| 3 | Nikos Blios | "Kita to fos" | 3,264 | 1 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Nikos Katikaridis | "O vasilias ton ftohon" | 5,614 | 3 |
| 2 | Marianna Efstratiou | "Ta hili pou filouses" | 5,891 | 2 |
| 3 | Vivetta Koursi | "Se nostalgo" | 10,706 | 1 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Efstathia Mantzoufa | "Deisdaemona" | 4,677 | 3 |
| 2 | Dionysia Karoki and Thalassa | "Kosme cinema" | 7,580 | 1 |
| 3 | Robert Williams, Konstantinos Paliatsaras and Mara Thrasivoulidou | "Promitheas" | 6,299 | 2 |
Final
ERT held the final on 7 March 1998 at its television studios in Athens, hosted by Giorgos Marinos. The winner was chosen by televoting. At the end of the event, Dionisia Karoki and Thalassa were selected to represent Greece with the song "Mia krifi evaisthisia". Following the selection, the group did not receive promotional support for the entry and they were not signed to a record label.| Draw | Singer | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Nikos Blios | "Kita to fos" | 7,274 | 5 |
| 2 | Iro Lehouriti | "Tipota" | 19,421 | 2 |
| 3 | Katerina Kourentzi | "Na ziso to fili" | 8,249 | 4 |
| 4 | Dionysia Karoki and Thalassa | "Kosme cinema" | 2,295 | 7 |
| 5 | Hara Konstantinou | "Fantasia mou" | 1,538 | 8 |
| 6 | Theodoros Zaharis | "Tha s'agapo" | 5,964 | 6 |
| 7 | Vivetta Koursi | "Se nostalgo" | 17,364 | 3 |
| 8 | Dionysia Karoki and Thalassa | "Mia krifi evaisthisia" | 19,477 | 1 |
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 took place at National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom, on 9 May 1998. Following confirmation of the 25-country participant list, the running order for the contest was decided by a draw held on 13 November 1997; Greece was assigned to perform second, following and preceding.In the lead up to the event, the song's composer, Yiannis Valvis, was not happy with the way the group's performance was to be filmed and demanded changes. When his demands were not met, the group threatened to quit the contest on the morning of the final day of rehearsals, and on the afternoon, they pulled out. Only minutes after their withdrawal, however, the group returned to the green room, having decided to go through with the performance after all, without the composer watching them on stage. Valvis was not permitted to attend the contest, on account of his aggressive behavior. He watched the contest locked inside his hotel room with two security guards guarding his door.
The Greek spokesperson announcing the nation's votes was Alexis Kostalas who, with the exceptions of and in which Greece did not participate, would serve as spokesperson until. At the close of voting, "Mia krifi evaisthisia" received 12 points in total, all from Cyprus, placing Greece 20th out of the 25 entries. This was the worst result for Greece in the contest at this point, and remained as so until 2016. Following this result, Greece was relegated from participation in 1999 contest.
Voting
| Score | Country |
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
| Score | Country |
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |