Greece was randomly selected the 16th position at the grand final allocation draw, performing after Denmark and before Sweden.

[2] Their least successful result was in 1998 when they placed 20th with the song "Mia krifi evaisthisia" by Thalassa, receiving only 12 points in total, all from Cyprus.

ERT reaffirmed Greece would be participating in the contest at the most minimal possible cost due to the Greek government-debt crisis affecting the country.

[7][8] To achieve this, the broadcaster took a different approach compared to previous years, seeking to share a majority of the costs of participation with a large record label that had international experience.

[14] The running order draw for the competing entries took place on 4 March during a media event hosted by ERT and Universal Music Greece.

[16] The names of the four acts, all signed to Universal, were released on 5 March; they included Cassiopeia, Dora, Eleftheria Eleftheriou and Velvet Fire.

[18] Dora had previously tried to represent Greece in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006 at age 14, but placed fourth in the national final.

[17][18] The fourth and final competing entry, Eleftheriou's song "Aphrodisiac", was written by Dimitri Stassos, Mikaela Stenström and Dajana Lööf.

[16] Stassos had previously written Spain's 2009 Eurovision entry "La noche es para mí",[18] while Eleftheriou had taken part in the second season of Greek talent show The X Factor.

[21] Ellinikós Telikós 2012 took place on 12 March at the River West shopping mall in Athens, hosted by Maria Kozakou and Giorgos Frantzeskakis.

[23][24] The show received a market share of 10.8% according to ABG Nielsen Hellas,[25][26] and #EurovisionGR was a worldwide trending topic on Twitter during its airing.

[31] Despite the many complaints, others applauded the broadcaster's efforts to take part in the contest with a limited budget and its clever choice of using a shopping mall's natural setting as a backdrop as opposed to a dark studio as was the case the previous year for Ellinikós Telikós 2011.

[32] Former entrant Sakis Rouvas also commended the broadcaster for continuing on a tight budget and commented that the result of production should have been expected as it was "a sign of the times", referring to the Greek government-debt crisis.

[33] To promote the entry, Eleftheriou made several appearances across Europe, including a stop in Turkey,[34] as well as in the Netherlands, where she participated in Eurovision in Concert at club Melkweg in Amsterdam on 21 April 2012.