After internal selections in 2021 and 2019, and a very small final in 2020, Poland has brought back a bigger scale (and renamed) national final with ten entries. Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję [The heart of Europe beats here! We choose a hit for Eurovision] is a single show, and the winner will be chosen from a 50/50 jury and televote split.
It’s a decent quality final, and quite a good variety of song genres as well, but as usual, a couple of clear favourites have emerged. Polish national finals don’t always go the way that the fans expect though, so don’t rule out surprises.
Favourite 1: Ochman “River”
A lot of Eurovision fans have been getting excited about this potential entry, and I can see why – it’s a really impressive ballad, with an interesting progression and vocal. There are some echoes of Duncan Laurence’s winning song, Arcade, but it’s no carbon copy. I think this would be a really good entry from Poland, but we’ll have to see if the live performance meets expectations, and if the jury and Polish public go for it.
Favourite 2: Daria “Paranoia”
This feels like quite typical Eurovision fare – a female solo pop banger and while that will always have a strong supporting demographic, it’s not offering anything tremendously different from what has gone before or likely to be competing against in the contest itself. That all said, how effective this can be will depend on the live performance on the night.
Entry of interest: Unmute “Głośniej niż decybele”
I highlight this one as it brings something new (I think) to Eurovision national final selections: a song performed solely in sign language. It’s an interesting concept – though the music accompanying the sign language is no winner.
The final takes place from 7pm UK time on Saturday 19 February. The broadcaster’s livestream will show the programme, though may not be available to view in all countries.