Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998

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.[4]

Heading into the final of the contest, BBC reported that bookmakers ranked the entry 22nd out of the 25 entries.[5] Thalassa performed 2nd on the night of the contest, following Croatia and preceding France. At the close of voting, "Mia krifi evaisthisia" received only 12 points, placing Greece 20th out of 25 entries.[6] It was the worst Greek result in the contest at the time, and would remain so until 2016. The Greek televoting awarded its 12 points to Cyprus. The Greek spokesperson was Alexis Kostalas who, with the exceptions of 1999 and 2000 in which Greece did not participate, would serve as spokesperson until 2010.

Due to a low average score over the past 5 contests, Greece was forced to sit out the 1999 contest.

Voting

Points awarded to Greece[7] Score Country 12 points  Cyprus 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Greece[7] Score Country 12 points  Cyprus 10 points  Israel 8 points  Netherlands 7 points  United Kingdom 6 points  Malta 5 points  Croatia 4 points  Belgium 3 points  Germany 2 points  Slovenia 1 point  Portugal