Poland | |
---|---|
Member station | TVP |
National selection events |
National Final
Internal Selection
|
Participation summary | |
Appearances | 20 (14 finals) |
First appearance | 1994 |
Best result | 2nd: 1994 |
Worst result | Last: 2011 SF |
External links | |
TVP page | |
Poland's page at Eurovision.tv | |
For the most recent participation see Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 |
Poland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 20 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's debut in the contest in 1994 remains its most successful entry, with Edyta Górniak finishing second. The country reached the top ten for the second time with Ich Troje finishing seventh in 2003. Poland failed to qualify from the semi-finals in six out of seven years between 2005 and 2011, before withdrawing from the contest in 2012 and 2013. Since returning in 2014, Poland has qualified for the final for four consecutive years, achieving a third top ten finish in 2016, with Michał Szpak finishing eighth.
The first ever performance by Poland was at the 1994 contest: Edyta Górniak's song was also by far the most successful for Poland 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.
Subsequent Polish entries were less successful, placing between 11th and 20th. Poland did not compete in 2002. For the 2003 contest Poland organized its first public selection for Eurovision entry; It was no surprise when the group Ich Troje won the public vote ahead of Blue Café, finishing 7th in the final. Blue Café finished 17th in 2004 with "Love Song".