Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Poland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 25 times since its debut in 1994. Although Poland did not become a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) until 1993, earlier contests had often been broadcast on Telewizja Polska (TVP), the Polish broadcaster.

Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Poland
Participating broadcasterTelewizja Polska (TVP)
Participation summary
Appearances25 (16 finals)
First appearance1994
Highest placement2nd: 1994
Related articles
External links
TVP page
Poland's page at Eurovision.tv Edit this at Wikidata
For the most recent participation see
Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023

Poland's debut in the contest in 1994 remains its most successful entry, with Edyta Górniak finishing second. This remains Poland's only top five result in the contest. The country reached the top ten for the second time with Ich Troje finishing seventh in 2003. Poland then failed to qualify from the semi-finals in six out of seven years between 2005 and 2011, before withdrawing from the contest in 2012. Since returning in 2014, Poland had qualified for the final for four consecutive years (2014–2017), achieving a third top ten finish in 2016, with Michał Szpak finishing eighth. The country failed to qualify three contests in a row (2018, 2019 and 2021), a streak that ended with Ochman finishing 12th in 2022.

History

The first ever performance by Poland was at the 1994 contest: Edyta Górniak's song, "To nie ja!" is also by far the most successful Polish entry to date, receiving 166 points and placing second. Poland was almost disqualified that year though; there was no free-language rule in operation at the time, and a furor erupted at the dress rehearsal when Górniak sung the second half of "To nie ja!" in English. Six national delegations formally petitioned for Poland to be disqualified; however Eurovision rules required a majority of delegations (13 in this case) to complain before the European Broadcasting Union could examine the case for disqualification, so Poland was allowed to remain.

The Polish entry for the 1995 contest was again selected through internal selection. It was Justyna Steczkowska with "Sama". Steczkowska could not replicate Górniak's 2nd place, receiving only 15 points and placing 18th out of 23.

During the competition in 1996, a qualifying round was organized with the aim of reducing the number of countries participating in the final of the competition. The qualifying stage was not televised or recorded, and national juries audited the studio versions of all competition proposals and awarded them points. Out of 29 works sent by public broadcasters, 22 entries qualified for the finals. The only country not participating in the qualifying round was the competition host, Norway. The 1996 entry was Kasia Kowalska with "Chcę znać swój grzech...". She qualified to the final and placed 15th with 31 points.

Poland competed in the 1997 competition with the song "Ale jestem", the first uptempo Polish entry, which was performed by Anna Maria Jopek. At the close of voting, she had received 54 points, placing 11th in a field of 25.

In 1998 Poland was represented by band Sixteen. They performed the song "To Takie Proste" in the final of the competition, finishing 17th of 25 entrants, receiving 19 points.

In 1999 Mietek Szcześniak represented Poland with the song "Przytul mnie mocno". He was the first male singer who represented Poland. He placed 18th with 17 points. Due to the low results over previous five years, Poland did not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000.

Poland returned to the 2001 contest following an enforced one-year absence. However, after they placed 20th out of 23, they had to withdraw again from the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. They did however return in 2003.

For the 2003 contest Poland organized its first public selection for Eurovision entry;Ich Troje and some of the biggest Polish music acts, such as Wilki, Blue Café and Varius Manx , participated in the pre-selection, it was no surprise when the group Ich Troje won the public vote ahead of Blue Café, placing 7th of 26 countries in the final. This placing allowed Poland to skip the semi-final of the 2004 contest, automatically qualifying for the final.

The Polish entry for the 2004 contest was again selected through National Final, the Krajowe Eliminacje. The winner was Blue Café with "Love Song". Group could not repeat Ich Troje's 7th place, receiving only 27 points and placing 17th.

In 2005 TVP went back to an internal selection, picking "Czarna dziewczyna", a multilingual song performed in Polish and Russian. Poland competed at the semi-final for the first time. The song just missed out on a place in the final, coming 11th in the semi-final with 81 points, only 4 points behind Latvia.

Poland's 2006 entry was chosen with the comeback of the public vote on TVP. Ich Troje were chosen again in 2006 with song "Follow My Heart", but could not repeat their 7th place from 2003. They failed to qualify for the final, coming 11th with 70 points in the semi-final only 6 points behind Macedonia. Poland's 2007 entry, "Time To Party", sung by The Jet Set, only finished 14th in the semi-final.

Poland's only appearance in the final between 2005 and 2011, was in 2008. Even then, its song ("For Life", sung by Isis Gee) only qualified as a jury wildcard and placed a lowly 24th in the final, ahead of only United Kingdom.

In the 2009, Poland selected Lidia Kopania and her song "I Don't Wanna Leave". She performed in the second semi-final on 14 May 2009, however she failed to qualify, finishing 12th with 43 points.

The 2010 entry for Poland was Marcin Mroziński with song "Legenda". He performed in the first semi-final on 25 May 2010 but he didn't qualify for the final, finishing 13th with 44 points.

In 2011, Poland was represented by Magdalena Tul, and the country's entry was sung in Polish. Her song was called "Jestem", translated as "I am". Although initially a favorite with bookmakers, "Jestem" failed to qualify, finishing last 19th with 18 points in the first semi-final. This remains the worst Polish result to date.

Members of the Polish OGAE have said at their annual convention that they would like Edyta Górniak to represent Poland for a second time. For years it was unknown if Górniak would enter Eurovision again,[1] until when in 2016 she made a second attempt at representing her country in the contest, placing third in the national final.

2012–2013 absence

In December 2011, it was announced that Poland will not compete at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku. The Polish broadcaster stated that having to organize the European Football Championship 2012 (hosted by Poland and Ukraine) was a major factor in their non-participation.[2] TVP informed esctoday.com that their decision to abstain would not hamper their chances of returning in 2013. However, Poland confirmed on 22 November 2012 that they would not be participating in 2013.[3]

Return

TVP, the Polish national broadcaster has confirmed on 5 December 2013 that Poland will return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014.[4][5] On 25 February, it was announced that Donatan and Cleo would represent Poland with their song "My Słowianie".[6] They qualified for the final placing 8th with 70 points, making it only the second time Poland has qualified for the final since 2008. Donatan and Cleo performed 9th in the final and ended up placing 14th out of 26, with 62 points. The duo fared clearly better with the televoters, finishing third in the semi-final and 5th in the final respectively.

In 2015 TVP has selected their entry internally again by choosing Monika Kuszyńska and her song "In the Name of Love". She was the first ever Eurovision participant to sit in a wheelchair during her performance, due to the fact that she was paralyzed after being involved in a serious car accident in 2006. Kuszyńska performed last in the second semi-final on 21 May 2015 and qualified for the final placing 8th with 57 points. In the final, she came 23rd out of 27 acts, receiving ten points. Alike Donatan and Cleo, she fared clearly better with the televoters, coming fourth in the semi-final and 15th in the final respectively.

At the beginning of October 2015, TVP confirmed its participation in the 61st Eurovision Song Contest. Although the original representative of the country was to be selected internally by the station's management, on January 26, 2016 TVP1 director informed that the Polish representative will be selected through national final. Because of this, the Krajowe Eliminacje returned in 2016. Edyta Górniak and some of the biggest Polish music acts, such as Margaret, Natalia Szroeder took part in the competition with Michał Szpak winning it. Szpak performed second in the second semi-final on 12 May 2016, and qualified for the final by finishing in sixth place, with 151 points. In the final, held on 14 May 2016, he performed 12th and placed 8th out of 26 acts, with 229 points, which gave Poland their third best result ever.

In 2017, TVP decided to host the second edition of the national final, the interest for turned out to be smaller. Kasia Moś and her song "Flashlight" was announced as a winner. Moś performed 11th in the first semi-final on 9 May 2017. She qualified for the final placing 9th with 119 points. In the final, held on 13 May 2017, she performed 2nd and came 22nd out of 26 acts with 64 points total.

Poland's run of qualifications came to an end in 2018, when the song "Light Me Up" by Polish DJ Gromee and Swedish vocalist Lukas Meijer, again chosen during the national final, failed to qualify to the final by placing 14th with 81 points in the second semi-final. It is the first Polish entry since its return to the contest in 2014, not to qualify for the final.

In 2019, TVP returned to an internal selection, after a successful internal choice of Roksana Węgiel who won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018. On 15 February 2019, it was announced that TVP has chosen Tulia to represent Poland in Tel Aviv. However Poland failed to qualify for the grand final by placing 11th with 120 points in the first semi-final only 2 points behind Belarus.

In 2020, TVP used the talent show Szansa na Sukces to select the Polish artist and song, having used the show to select the song "Superhero" performed by Viki Gabor for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019, which went on to win.[7] Alicja Szemplińska won the national final with the song "Empires", winning both the public and the jury vote. However, the 2020 contest was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, TVP used an internal selection. On 12 March 2021 during the TVP2 programme Pytanie na śniadanie it was announced that Rafał Brzozowski would represent the country with the song "The Ride". Poland failed to qualify for the final, placing 14th with 35 points in the second semi-final.

In 2022, TVP used the national final Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję to select its entry. The national final was held on 19 February 2022, with 10 entries competing, and was won by Ochman with "River". Ochman performed 14th in the second semi-final on 12 May 2022. He qualified for the final placing 6th with 198 points. In the final, held on 14 May 2022, he performed 23rd, where he placed 12th with 151 points.

In 2023, Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję was again used to select the Polish entry. The national final took place on 26 February 2023, where Blanka won with the song "Solo". Her victory was met with a negative reception among Polish media and Eurovision fans. Blanka presented herself for the first time during the second semi-final of the competition on 11 May and qualified for the final from third place after scoring 124 points, the best result for Poland in a semi-final to date. In the final, she performed fourth and she finished in 19th place with 93 points.

Participation overview
Table key
2 Second place
3 Third place
◁ Last place
X Entry selected but did not compete
† Upcoming event
Year Artist Song Language Final Points Semi Points
1994 Edyta Górniak "To nie ja!" Polish 2 166 No semi-finals
1995 Justyna "Sama" Polish 18 15
1996 Kasia Kowalska "Chcę znać swój grzech" Polish 15 31 15 42
1997 Anna Maria Jopek "Ale jestem" Polish 11 54 No semi-finals
1998 Sixteen "To takie proste" Polish 17 19
1999 Mietek Szcześniak "Przytul mnie mocno" Polish 18 17
2001 Piasek "2 Long" English 20 11
2003 Ich Troje "Keine Grenzen – Żadnych granic" German, Polish, Russian 7 90
2004 Blue Café "Love Song" English, Spanish 17 27 Top 11 in 2003 contest[lower-alpha 1]
2005 Ivan and Delfin "Czarna dziewczyna" Polish, Russian Failed to qualify 11 81
2006 Ich Troje[lower-alpha 2] "Follow My Heart" English, Polish, German, Russian[lower-alpha 3] 11 70
2007 The Jet Set "Time to Party" English 14 75
2008 Isis Gee "For Life" English 24 14 10 42
2009 Lidia Kopania "I Don't Wanna Leave" English Failed to qualify 12 43
2010 Marcin Mroziński "Legenda" English, Polish 13 44
2011 Magdalena Tul "Jestem" Polish 19 ◁ 18
2014 Donatan and Cleo "My Słowianie – We Are Slavic" Polish, English 14 62 8 70
2015 Monika Kuszyńska "In the Name of Love" English 23 10 8 57
2016 Michał Szpak "Color of Your Life" English 8 229 6 151
2017 Kasia Moś "Flashlight" English 22 64 9 119
2018 Gromee feat. Lukas Meijer "Light Me Up" English Failed to qualify 14 81
2019 Tulia "Fire of Love (Pali się)" Polish, English 11 120
2020 Alicja "Empires" English Contest cancelled[lower-alpha 4] X
2021 Rafał "The Ride" English Failed to qualify 14 35
2022 Ochman "River" English 12 151 6 198
2023 Blanka "Solo" English 19 93 3 124
2024 Confirmed intention to participate †[8]

Awards

Barbara Dex Award
Further information: Barbara Dex Award
Year Performer Host city Ref.
2001 Piasek Denmark Copenhagen
[9]

Conductors

Their first 2 entries were conducted by Noel Kelehan

Commentators and spokespersons
Year Commentator Spokesperson Ref.
1965 UnknownDid not participate[10]
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970 No commentator [11]
1971
1972 No broadcast
1973 Unknown
1974
1975 No broadcast
1976
1977 Unknown
1978
1979 No broadcast
1980
1981 Unknown[12]
1982 No broadcast
1983 Unknown
1984
1985 Bogusław Brelik
1986 Unknown
1987 Bogusław Brelik
1988 Unknown
1989
1990
1991 Ryszard Rembiszewski
1992 Artur Orzech and Maria Szabłowska
1993
1994 Artur OrzechJan Chojnacki
1995
1996 Dorota Osman
1997 Jan Wilkans
1998 Artur Orzech
1999
2000 Did not participate
2001 Maciej Orłoś
2002 Did not participate
2003 Maciej Orłoś
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008 Radosław Brzózka
2009
2010 Aleksandra Rosiak
2011 Odeta Moro-Figurska
2012 No broadcastDid not participate
2013
2014 Artur OrzechPaulina Chylewska
2015 Aleksandra Ciupa
2016 Anna Popek
2017
2018 Mateusz Szymkowiak
[13][14]
2019
[15][16]
2020 Not announced before cancellation
2021 Aleksander Sikora and Marek Sierocki Ida Nowakowska
[17]
2022
[18]
2023
[19]

Stage directors
Year Stage director Ref.
2009 Bolesław Pawica
[20]
2010 Dariusz Lewandowski
[21]
2014 Mikołaj Dobrowolski
[22]
2015 Mikołaj Dobrowolski
[23]
2017 Konrad Smuga
[24]
2018 Konrad Smuga
[25]
2019 Konrad Smuga
[26]
2021 Mikołaj Dobrowolski
[27]
2022 Mikołaj Dobrowolski and Tomasz Klimek
[28]
2023 Mikołaj Dobrowolski
[29]

Photogallery

See also

Notes
  1. According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the Grand Final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
  2. Performance contains uncredited live vocals from O-Jay
  3. The song also contains words in Spanish.
  4. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References
  1. Floras, Stella (25 August 2008). "OGAE Poland: A convention to remember". ESCToday. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  2. Van Ee, Dennis (16 December 2011). "Poland: TVP withdraws from Eurovision 2012". ESCDaily. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  3. "No return: Poland will not be in Malmö". esctoday.com. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  4. "Eurovision Song Contest 2022 news by esctoday - Turin Italy".
  5. "Centrum Informacji - Telewizja Polska S.A. - TVP.pl".
  6. "My, Słowianie na Eurowizji" (in Polish). Tvp.pl. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  7. Farren, Neil (2 January 2020). "Poland: Szansa na Sukces to Select Eurovision 2020 Entrant". eurovoix.com.
  8. Jiandani, Sanjay (20 September 2023). "Poland: TVP confirms participation at Eurovision 2024". ESCToday. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  9. Adams, William Lee (9 July 2015). "Poll: Who was the worst dressed Barbara Dex Award winner?". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  10. Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 369–381. ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
  11. Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 25–37. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
  12. Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 86–103. ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
  13. "Energetyczni Gromee i Lukas Meijer wystąpią w drugim półfinale 63. Konkursu Eurowizji". tvp.pl (in Polish). 27 April 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  14. ""May we have your votes please?"". eurovision.tv. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  15. Herbert, Emily (30 April 2019). "Poland: Artur Orzech Returns as Eurovision 2019 Commentator". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  16. "Eurovision 2019 Spokespersons – Who will announce the points?". eurovisionworld.com. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  17. "Eurowizja 2021: wiemy, kto skomentuje konkurs. Zaskakujący duet!". Eurowizja.org (in Polish). 30 April 2021.
  18. "Eurowizja 2022: reprezentanta Polski poznamy podczas Koncertu Finałowego". eurowizja.tvp.pl (in Polish). Telewizja Polska. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  19. Blazewicz, Maciej (2 May 2023). "Eurowizja 2023: Austria wygrywa trzeci dzień prób, a Blanka została odebrana pozytywnie przez czytelników • Co w środę? • Ile Liverpool zarobi na Eurowizji? • Ida Nowakowska poda punkty z Warszawy • Spis rekwizytów II półfinału". Dziennik-Eurowizyjny.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  20. "🇵🇱 Poland: Lidia Kopania Eurovision". 9 March 2019.
  21. "🇵🇱 Poland: Dariusz Lewandowski To Be The New Artistic Director For Poland". 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012.
  22. "EUROWIZJA: POLSKA BĘDZIE MIEĆ DWÓCH REŻYSERÓW WYSTĘPU KRYSTIANA! • RUSZA AMERICAN SONG CONTEST. JAKIE SĄ ZASADY? GDZIE I JAK ŚLEDZIĆ SHOW? • AZERBEJDŻAN PREZENTUJE UTWÓR – ZNAMY CAŁĄ STAWKĘ ESC 2022 • BJORKMANDE – UKŁADAMY KOLEJNOŚĆ STARTOWĄ". 21 March 2022.
  23. "EUROWIZJA: POLSKA BĘDZIE MIEĆ DWÓCH REŻYSERÓW WYSTĘPU KRYSTIANA! • RUSZA AMERICAN SONG CONTEST. JAKIE SĄ ZASADY? GDZIE I JAK ŚLEDZIĆ SHOW? • AZERBEJDŻAN PREZENTUJE UTWÓR – ZNAMY CAŁĄ STAWKĘ ESC 2022 • BJORKMANDE – UKŁADAMY KOLEJNOŚĆ STARTOWĄ". 21 March 2022.
  24. "🇵🇱 Poland: Mikołaj Dobrowolski To Be The New Artistic Director For Poland". 9 March 2021.
  25. "🇵🇱 Poland: Mikołaj Dobrowolski To Be The New Artistic Director For Poland". 9 March 2021.
  26. "🇵🇱 Poland: Mikołaj Dobrowolski To Be The New Artistic Director For Poland". 9 March 2021.
  27. "🇵🇱 Poland: Mikołaj Dobrowolski To Be The New Artistic Director For Poland". 9 March 2021.
  28. "Poland: Two Directors for Ochman's Eurovision Performance". 21 March 2022.
  29. Blazewicz, Maciej (6 May 2023). "Eurowizja: Blanka skompromitowana przez Telewizję Polską. Kto za tym stoi? • Twitter śmieje się z polskiego efekciarstwa • Dlaczego „Solo" awansuje do finału?". DZIENNIK-EUROWIZYJNY.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 7 May 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.