Marina Satti, Greece’s representative for Eurovision 2024, took center stage in Malmo Arena in Sweden for her second technical rehearsal today, while also dancing with the representative of Armenia, Jaklin Baghdasaryan, who was singing rebetika.
The atmosphere at Eurovision is a very Greek one this year, mainly resulting from Marina Satti’s backstage rehearsals of her “Zari” song, which took place during a large party with the Greek singer having fun with the representative of Armenia in rebetika rhythms.
Jaklin, from the Armenian group Ladaniva, sang familiar rebetika songs in fluent Greek and shared the moment with video stories on her personal Instagram account. After Marina Satti’s rehearsal had come to a close, ERT, the Greek broadcaster, shared a video on its social media, showing Luna’s rehearsal as it will be seen on TV.
Now that the technical rehearsals have come to an end for the Greek Eurovision delegation, Marina Satti will take the Malmo Arena stage again for her dress rehearsal upon the second semi-final on May 9.
Eurovision 2024 will take place from May 7 to May 11.
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.
