The Polish broadcaster TVP has announced that submissions are now open for their Eurovision 2017 selection show, Krajowe Eliminacje. The submission period will be open until Friday 20th January.
As previously reported, the rules of this year’s contest have undergone some changes which will effect submissions. Firstly, only Polish citizens are permitted to enter a song into the competition. Secondly, it has also been decided that artists who have competed in the national selection of another country this year will also not be allowed to enter. Both of these changes come following last year’s edition of Krajowe Eliminacje, where Belorussian group NAPOLI entered the Polish selection with the song “My Universe”, a song that had finished second in the Belorussian selection just 6 weeks prior.
Changes to the submission rules are not the only changes to come to Krajowe Eliminacje this year, as a jury vote has also been introduced to the show. Whilst last year’s results were decided solely by the public, this year there will be a 50-50 split between the public and a jury. The jury members are yet to be announced.
Following the closing of submissions on 20th January, an announcement on the participants will be made on Friday 27th January. The Polish selection will take place on Saturday 11th February.
Source: TVP
Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Poland debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 alongside a number of other Eastern European countries. Their debut year saw their best result to date, as Edyta Gorniak finished in 2nd place with her song “To nie ja!”. Following this, Poland failed to repeat this initial success, managing a top 10 placing on only one other occasion during their initial 1994-2011 run in the contest. In 2012, following a string of non-qualifications, Poland withdrew from the contest due to financial difficulties. Since their return in 2014, they have been considerably more successful in the contest, having qualified for the final for the past three years. Last year, Michal Szpak went on to finish 8th in the grand final, Poland’s third-best result ever and their third top 10 placing.
