Poland was 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, (TVP), organised the national final in order to select its entry for the contest.
Poland was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2026. Performing during the show in position 14, "Pray" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 16 May. It was later revealed that Poland placed second out of the 15 participating countries in the semi-final with 247 points. In the final, Poland performed in position 18 and placed twelfth out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 150 points.
Background
Prior to the 2026 contest, (TVP) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Poland twenty-seven times since its first entry in . Its highest placement in the contest, to this point, had been second place, achieved with its debut entry in 1994, "" 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 , and when "Color of Your Life" performed by Michał Szpak finished eighth in . Following the introduction of semi-finals for the , Poland managed to qualify for the final nine times; additionally, TVP was absent from the contest in 2012 and 2013. In , "" 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, the broadcaster selected its entry through the national final . On 3 November 2025, TVP confirmed its intention to participate in the 2026 contest and to again select its entry through a televised final.
Before Eurovision
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 on TVP2. Both broadcasts were also shown online via the streaming platform . The final was watched by 566 thousand viewers in Poland for a 6.11% share.
Competing entries 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 , 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 before the contest's cancellation.
Key: Entry withdrawn Artist Song Songwriter(s) Alicja "Pray" Anastazja "Wild Child" "" "" "" Karolina Szczurowska "" Ola Antoniak "Don't You Try" Piotr Pręgowski "" Stasiek Kukulski "This Too Shall Pass"
Final 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 ( and Polish representative as part of the group ) and Viki Gabor ( winner).
+ Final7 March 2026 Artist Song Public vote Place App Televote Total 1 Anastazja "Wild Child" 2,837 438 3,275 7 2 Piotr Pręgowski "" 7,996 1,353 9,349 4 3 Karolina Szczurowska "" 2,378 2,804 5,182 6 4 Stasiek Kukulski "This Too Shall Pass" 4,045 3,793 7,838 5 5 Basia Giewont "" 7,981 3,879 11,860 3 6 Alicja "Pray" 20,350 5,742 26,092 1 7 Jeremi Sikorski "" 2,244 675 2,919 8 8 Ola Antoniak "Don't You Try" 11,306 3,686 14,992 2
Promotion 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.
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 took place at the in Vienna, Austria, and consisted 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) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progressed 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 would 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 were broadcast on TVP1, with commentary provided by Artur Orzech. In addition, TVP aired the contest internationally through TVP Polonia as well as on its streaming platform .
Performance 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 was 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 was 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.
Semi-final Poland performed in position 14, following the entry from and before the entry from . At the end of the show, the country was announced as a qualifier for the final. It was later revealed that Poland placed second out of the fifteen participating countries in the first semi-final with 247 points; 110 points from the public televoting and 137 points from the juries.
Final Following the semi-final, Poland was drawn to perform in the second half of the final. Poland performed in position 18, following the entry from and before the entry from . Alicja once again took part in dress rehearsals on 15 and 16 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show on 16 May. Poland placed twelfth in the final, scoring 150 points; 17 points from the public televoting and 133 points from the juries.
Voting Below is a breakdown of points awarded by and to Poland in the first semi-final and in the final. Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. The Polish jury consisted of Viki Gabor, who , Wiktoria Kida, Stasiek Kukulski, Filip Kuncewicz, Jasiek Piwowarczyk, Eliza Orzechowska and Maurycy Żółtański. In the first semi-final, Poland placed second with 247 points, receiving maximum twelve points in the jury vote from , , , and . In the final, Poland placed twelfth with 150 points, receiving twelve points in the jury vote from , Belgium, Germany and . Over the course of the contest, Poland awarded its 12 points to Belgium (jury) and Moldova (televote) in the first semi-final, and to Israel (jury) and (televote) in the final.
The spokesperson for the Polish jury at the final was Aleksandra Budka.
Points awarded to Poland
+ Points awarded to Poland (Semi-final 1) Score Televote Jury 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
+ Points awarded to Poland (Final) Score Televote Jury 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded by Poland
+ Points awarded by Poland (Semi-final 1) Score Televote Jury 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
+ Points awarded by Poland (Final) Score Televote Jury 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Detailed voting results Each participating broadcaster assembles a seven-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. Each jury, and individual jury member, is required to meet a strict set of criteria regarding professional background, as well as diversity in gender and age. No member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
The following members comprised the Polish jury: Viki Gabor
Stasiek Kukulski Filip Kuncewicz Jasiek Piwowarczyk Eliza Orzechowska Maurycy Żółtański
+ Country Jury Televote Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Juror F Juror G Rank Points Rank Points 01 7 6 8 11 3 3 13 10 1 1 12 02 3 7 12 2 14 4 10 8 3 10 1 03 5 3 9 5 8 5 11 9 2 7 4 04 1 8 11 1 7 14 14 7 4 9 2 05 14 1 7 4 10 1 9 3 8 13 06 8 13 4 7 13 10 7 12 14 07 2 4 5 8 6 11 8 6 5 4 7 08 13 12 13 9 11 13 12 14 5 6 09 11 9 6 13 9 9 6 13 8 3 10 4 11 1 10 5 12 1 2 10 3 8 11 6 2 2 3 4 8 5 1 12 11 12 9 5 10 6 2 6 4 5 6 6 5 13 12 14 14 14 12 2 3 11 12 14 15 10 10 3 12 1 7 2 4 7 2 10
+ CountryJury Televote Rank Points Rank Points 01 5 15 15 8 7 14 11 14 8 3 02 19 14 17 11 10 15 20 23 23 03 3 5 24 1 2 2 7 1 12 9 2 04 6 21 16 6 9 1 8 5 6 22 05 16 8 14 13 4 5 17 13 15 06 2 12 22 2 17 6 5 3 8 12 07 12 13 6 18 11 7 3 10 1 1 12 08 1 1 13 12 14 21 18 4 7 6 5 09 22 11 21 19 22 23 2 20 10 1 10 10 16 8 14 8 20 14 22 17 11 9 22 18 15 1 4 16 7 4 7 4 12 17 2 11 5 5 19 1 2 10 4 7 13 11 3 19 24 16 10 10 15 11 14 23 24 20 20 21 17 23 24 21 15 13 4 9 16 15 18 19 19 18 16 18 6 7 21 12 24 15 21 3 8 17 4 10 12 4 19 12 13 11 5 6 18 19 21 7 23 22 23 11 4 18 19 20 8 9 10 7 20 13 22 17 16 21 24 18 2 17 3 22 24 12 20 22 14 23 1 23 13 9 6 9 2 13 23 7 19 3 10 6 8 21 8 3 14 24 15 17 5 3 24 3 12 6 5 2 10 25 20 20 4 9 18 16 9 16 24
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