Poland hosted and participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Warsaw. Polish broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) was responsible for the country's participation in the contest, and organised the national final Szansa na sukces to select the Polish entry for the contest. The national final was won by Ala Tracz with the song "I'll Be Standing", which represented Poland in the contest. She ended up in 9th place with 90 points.

Background

Prior to the 2020 contest, Poland had participated in the contest six times: In and , Poland finished in last place, and they decided not to participate from 2005 to 2015. The country returned in . Olivia Wieczorek was selected to represent the nation that year with the song "Nie zapomnij". Olivia finished in 11th place out of 17 entries with 60 points. In , Alicja Rega was selected to represent Poland with the song "Mój dom". She finished 8th out of 16 entries with 138 points. In both and , Poland won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest with Roksana Węgiel and Viki Gabor respectively, becoming the first country to win the contest twice in a row.

After Poland's victory in the contest on home soil in Gliwice, the director-general of TVP, Jacek Kurski, stated that the country would apply to host the event again in 2020. However, Kurski stated that the possibility of two consecutive editions of the event in Poland could be frowned upon by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). After a period of uncertainty, in the last week of December 2019, it was reported by Gazeta Wyborcza that some Kraków city councillors were expressing interest in taking the proposal that the contest be held in the city, focused on Tauron Arena. A few days later on 8 January 2020, the proposal was discussed at the City Council and accepted by the majority of its members. Poland was confirmed as the host country in March 2020.

Before Junior Eurovision National final Format Szansa na sukces consisted of four shows: three semi-finals broadcast on 6 September, 13 September and 20 September, and a final on 27 September. Seven singers competed in each semi-final, with one qualifying for the final as determined by a jury of artists. Each of the three finalists performed one song selected by the producers and one song that would serve as the Polish entry for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The winner was determined by an equal combination of jury votes and SMS votes.

Semi-finals Semi-final 1 The first semi-final was broadcast on 6 September 2020. All seven semi-finalists performed intergenerational hits. The jury consisted of three members:

Viki Gabor – singer, winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 Edyta Górniak – singer, Polish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 Piotr Rubik – composer

+Semi-final 1 – 6 September 2020DrawArtistSongResultGabriela Łukasik"Superhero"EliminatedMikołaj Gajowy"Niech mówią, że to nie jest miłość"EliminatedLena Marzec"Andromeda"FinalistAurelia Radecka"Getaway"Honourable mentionHanna Dzieniewicz"Nie zapomnij"EliminatedAntonina Biesiadecka"Król"EliminatedAmelia Karczewska"Psalm dla Ciebie"Honourable mention

Semi-final 2 The second semi-final was broadcast on 13 September 2020. All seven semi-finalists performed famous worldwide hits. The jury consisted of three members:

Michał Wiśniewski – singer, Polish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 and the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 Cleo – singer, represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Gromee – DJ, record producer, remixer, songwriter, Polish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

+Semi-final 2 – 13 September 2020DrawArtistSongResultAleksandra Kędra"Perfect"Honourable mentionNatalia Kosmowska"Can't Stop the Feeling!"EliminatedSandra Wawer"No Roots"Honourable mentionMaja Biernat"Hold Back the River"EliminatedAgata Serwin "What Makes You Beautiful"FinalistZuzanna Darnikowska"Be the One"EliminatedMaja Janowska"Budapest"Eliminated

Semi-final 3 The third semi-final was broadcast on 20 September 2020. All seven semi-finaliats performed songs from fairytales. The jury consisted of three members:

Marina Łuczenko-Szczęsna – singer, songwriter, actress Dawid Kwiatkowski – singer-songwriter Kasia Łaska – singer, voice actress

+Semi-final 3 – 20 September 2020DrawArtistSongResultAla Tracz"Kolorowy wiatr"FinalistLena Małodzińska"Mam tę moc"EliminatedSzymon Lubicki"Ani słowa"Honourable mentionAntonina Piotrowska"Ty druha we mnie masz"Honourable mentionKonrad Repiński"Większy świat"EliminatedAnna Laskowska"Miłość rośnie wokół nas"EliminatedDominika Głąb"Pół kroku stąd"Eliminated

Final The final was held on 27 September 2020. Three artists competed in the final, and the winning artist and song represented Poland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The jury consisted of three members: Konrad Smuga (director of Polish performances at Junior Eurovision), Grzegorz Urban (music director of Szansa na Sukces), and Anna Cyzowska-Andura (director of the TVP Entertainment Agency). Another panel, consisting of Viki Gabor, Cleo and Dawid Kwiatkowski was also present during the show, but did not have any power over the voting. The winner was Ala Tracz with the song "I'll Be Standing", which was composed by Gromee and Sara Chmiel-Gromala.

+Final – 27 September 2020ArtistDrawCoverDrawJESC songJuryTelevoteTotalPlaceLena Marzec 1"Superhero" 4"You and Me" 3 3 6 2Agata Serwin 2"Can't Stop the Feeling!" 5"What I'm Made Of" 1 1 2 3Ala Tracz 3"Mam tę moc" 6"I'll Be Standing" 5 5 10 1

At Junior Eurovision During the opening ceremony and the running order draw, which both took place on 23 November 2020, Poland was drawn to perform sixth on 29 November 2020, following Belarus and preceding Georgia.

Voting

+ Points awarded to Poland Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point Poland received 44 points from the online vote

+ Points awarded by Poland Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Detailed voting results The following members comprised the Polish jury:

Ada Kućmierz Agata Serwin Lena Marzec

Oliwia Stefanowska

+ Draw Country Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Rank Points 01 3 7 9 11 11 9 2 02 5 6 8 10 8 8 3 03 4 3 2 3 3 3 8 04 6 11 11 9 10 11 05 7 2 1 1 1 1 12 06 07 8 9 5 4 6 6 5 08 9 1 6 7 9 5 6 09 10 10 7 5 5 7 4 10 2 4 4 8 4 4 7 11 1 5 3 2 2 2 10 12 11 8 10 6 7 10 1

References