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Poland are in for Eurovision 2026 and this time TVP look like they actually care a little bit more. The broadcaster is setting its sights on Valentine’s night for a revamped national final, a fresh line-up and the public firmly in charge of who gets the TVP tickets to Vienna.
Poland’s plans for 2026
Poland is confirmed for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, keeping up a now-regular presence at the contest despite the occasional bout of withdrawal speculation in the local press. TVP has doubled down on the format it knows best: a live national final where the home audience gets to pick both artist and song in one go.
The show carries the gloriously long title “Wielki Finał Polskich Kwalifikacji 2026” and will air on 14 February 2026 – because nothing says romance like nervously watching jury spokespeople and SMS graphics. Instead of a quiet studio affair, TVP promises something bigger (and louder), leaning into a more concert-style production to match what other broadcasters have been doing for years.
How the winner is chosen
On paper, the rules are refreshingly simple: 100% public vote decides who goes to Vienna. Viewers at home will be able to cast their votes via SMS, with a back-up jury lurking, in case of a tie (or any technical meltdown that stops the phones from doing their thing).
The road to this line-up has already been a bit of a slog. TVP opened submissions, pulled in a stack of demos and then hauled hopefuls to Warsaw for live auditions where a committee of music pros and broadcaster types whittled things down to a final eight. At one point, the talk was of up to 13 finalists, but the end result is a tighter field, with a couple of reserves kept on ice just in case.
The 2026 line-up
Here’s where it gets interesting – eight acts, a mix of familiar domestic names and new faces, all aiming for that Vienna postcard.
| Song title | Artist |
|---|---|
| Pray | Alicja |
| Wild Child | Anastazja |
| Zimna woda (Cold Water) | Basia Giewont |
| Shadows of the Past | Jeremi Sikorski |
| Don’t Be Afraid | Karolina Szczurowska |
| Don’t You Try | Ola Antoniak |
| Parawany Tango (Tango Screens) | Piotr Pręgowski |
| This Too Shall Pass | Stasiek Kukulski |
Alicja was their entry in 2020, she didn’t go to the contest of course.
Context and expectations
All of this comes off the back of a reasonably solid 2025 outing. Poland last year managed a 14th-place finish in the Eurovision final with Justyna Steczkowska’s “Gaja”, which did notably better with the televote than with the juries. It was enough to quieten the usual “is it worth it?” noise inside TVP and justify pumping a bit more effort (and budget) into the 2026 selection.
The stakes, then, are fairly clear. TVP are not in crisis mode, but also not in a position to coast – another mid-table finish and the conversation at home will be very different to one sparked by a top ten or a surprise jury-friendly entry. With an arena-style show, eight carefully picked finalists and the public holding all the cards, “Wielki Finał Polskich Kwalifikacji 2026” looks set to be a decent Saturday night out, if you have no-one better to do on Valentines day of course!
