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Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026
| Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | |||
| Telewizja Polska (TVP) | |||
| Poland | |||
| Finał krajowych kwalifikacji | |||
| 8 March 2026 | |||
| "Pray" | |||
| Alicja | |||
| .mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}Alicja SzemplińskaSinclair Alan MalcolmWeronika Gabryelczyk | |||
| Qualified (2nd, 247 points) | |||
| 12th, 150 points | |||
| ◄2025 • |
2026 | ◄2025 • | 2026 | | | ◄2025 • | 2026 | | |
Poland will be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the song "Pray", written by Alicja Szemplińska, Sinclair Alan Malcolm and Weronika Gabryelczyk, and performed by Alicja herself. The Polish participating broadcaster, Telewizja Polska (TVP), organised the national final Finał krajowych kwalifikacji in order to select its entry for the contest.
Prior to the 2026 contest, Telewizja Polska (TVP) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Poland twenty-seven times since its first entry in 1994. Its highest placement in the contest, to this point, had been second place, achieved with its debut entry in 1994, "To nie ja!" performed by Edyta Górniak. It had only reached the top ten on two other occasions, when "Keine Grenzen – Żadnych granic" performed Ich Troje finished seventh in 2003, and when "Color of Your Life" performed by Michał Szpak finished eighth in 2016. Between 2005 and 2011 (except in 2008), and again between 2018 and 2021, it failed to qualify from the semi-final; additionally, TVP was absent from the contest in 2012 and 2013. Between 2014 and 2017, it managed instead to qualify to the final each year. In 2025, "Gaja" performed by Justyna Steczkowska qualified for the final, eventually finishing 14th.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, TVP organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. It had selected its entry for the contest both through national finals and internal selections in the past. In 2025, TVP selected its entry through the national final Wielki finał polskich kwalifikacji. On 3 November 2025, TVP confirmed its intention to participate in the 2026 contest and to again select its entry through a televised final.
Finał krajowych kwalifikacji ("The final of the national qualifiers") was the national final format developed by TVP in order to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The competition consisted of a final filmed at the TVP studios in Warsaw on 1 March 2026; it was hosted by Artur Orzech and aired on 7 March 2026 on TVP1 and TVP Polonia, with the results announced the following day during the morning show Pytanie na śniadanie on TVP2. Both broadcasts were also shown online via the streaming platform TVP VOD. The final was watched by 566 thousand viewers in Poland for a 6.11% share.
On 3 November 2025, TVP opened a submission period for interested artists lasting until 24 November 2025. Applicants were required to hold Polish citizenship for their entries to qualify to compete. At the closing of the deadline, 173 entries had been received. The submissions were assessed by an 11-member jury composed of representatives from the Polish music industry, media and the broadcaster itself, and chaired by Piotr Klatt, which shortlisted 20 artists and songs based on the ten favourites of each jury member and subsequently oversaw a live audition phase on 18 December 2025, with the possibility for artists deemed by the selection committee to have established musical careers to be exempt from this stage. Following the live auditions, by 20 December 2025, the jury had selected ten finalists (plus two backups); the final list of selected entries was later revised, with Karolina Czarnecka withdrawing and eight finalists subsequently announced on 14 January 2026.
Among the selected competing artists was Alicja, who was set to represent Poland in 2020 before the contest's cancellation.
Key: .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Entry withdrawn
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Alicja | "Pray" | .mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:"\a0 · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}Alicja SzemplińskaSinclair Alan MalcolmWeronika Gabryelczyk |
| Anastazja | "Wild Child" | Anastazja MaciągAndrzej JaworskiBruce SmithTchiah OmmarTobi VerheijYnke Dingenen |
| Basia Giewont | "Zimna woda" | Barbara Gąsienica-GiewontKorneliusz Flisiak |
| Jeremi Sikorski | "Cienie przeszłości" | Albert MarkiewiczAleksander KrzyżanowskiJeremi Sikorski |
| "Jedna chwila" | Karolina CzarneckaMike Johnson | |
| Karolina Szczurowska | "Nie bój się" | Grzegorz StasiukMarek Dutkiewicz |
| Ola Antoniak | "Don't You Try" | Aldona DąbrowskaSławomir Sokołowski |
| Piotr Pręgowski | "Parawany tango" | Bartosz MiecznikowskiPiotr Pręgowski |
| Stasiek Kukulski | "This Too Shall Pass" | Marek Mościcki-HalickiMichał LangePatrycja KosiarkiewiczStanisław KukulskiThomas Karlsson |
The final was aired on 7 March 2026. The winner, "Pray" by Alicja, was selected exclusively by a public vote. Viewers could vote for each song up to three times via the TVP VOD application throughout the week preceding the show and later via SMS, with the voting lines opened during the broadcast and closed at midnight on 8 March. In addition to the competing entries, the show featured guest performances by Michał Wiśniewski (2003 and 2006 Polish representative as part of the group Ich Troje) and Viki Gabor (2019 junior contest winner).
| R/O | Artist | Song | Public vote | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anastazja | "Wild Child" | 2,837 | 438 | 3,275 | 7 |
| Piotr Pręgowski | "Parawany tango" | 7,996 | 1,353 | 9,349 | 4 |
| Karolina Szczurowska | "Nie bój się" | 2,378 | 2,804 | 5,182 | 6 |
| Stasiek Kukulski | "This Too Shall Pass" | 4,045 | 3,793 | 7,838 | 5 |
| Basia Giewont | "Zimna woda" | 7,981 | 3,879 | 11,860 | 3 |
| Alicja | "Pray" | 20,350 | 5,742 | 26,092 | 1 |
| Jeremi Sikorski | "Cienie przeszłości" | 2,244 | 675 | 2,919 | 8 |
| Ola Antoniak | "Don't You Try" | 11,306 | 3,686 | 14,992 | 2 |
As part of the promotion of her participation in the contest, Alicja attended the Eurovision in Concert event in Amsterdam on 11 April 2026 and the London Eurovision Party on 19 April 2026. On 28 April 2026, she attended a press conference organised by TVP, where she introduced the creative team behind her Eurovision performance. In addition, she performed at the Eurovision Village in Vienna on 13 May 2026.
Alicja during a dress rehearsal for the first semi-final.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final will progress to the final. On 12 January 2026, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country will perform in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. Poland was scheduled for the second half of the first semi-final. The shows' producers then decided the running order for the semi-finals; Poland was set to perform in position 14.
In Poland, all shows are being broadcast on TVP1, with commentary provided by Artur Orzech. In addition, TVP is airing the contest internationally through TVP Polonia as well as on its streaming platform TVP VOD.
Alicja took part in technical rehearsals on 3 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. Her performance of "Pray" at the contest is staged by Kamil Staszczyszyn and choreographed by Adam Beta and Tina Papazyan, with Krystian Rzymkiewicz, Oskar Borkowski, Stefano Silvino and Włodek Kołobycz as supporting dancers; a large inclined platform is heavily featured as the central element of the staging on which the dancers perform acrobatic choreography and which is also climbed by Alicja, who wears a silver metallic armour-inspired outfit. It had been anticipated that the performance would feature a "monumental" prop.
Poland performed in position 14, following the entry from San Marino and before the entry from Serbia. At the end of the show, the country was announced as a qualifier for the final.
Following the semi-final, Poland was drawn to perform in the second half of the final. Poland will perform in position 18, following the entry from Finland and before the entry from Lithuania.
The spokesperson for the Polish jury at the final will be Aleksandra Budka.
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