The Czech Republic is sticking with what works. Broadcaster Česká Televize (CT) has confirmed that it will again use its selection method ESCZ to find its act for Eurovision 2022. The broadcaster revealed initial details of the application process.
CT announced the details on social media, with a post that summarised the basics of the application process.
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The ESCZ guidelines confirm the iconic Eurovision rule that songs can’t have been released prior to 1 September. The broadcaster is clear that this is not the place for Czech songwriters to recycle their greatest hits.
The lead vocalist of the song must hold Czech citizenship — though in the case of a duet, it’s ok for just one of the two singers to be Czech.
Song submissions don’t have to be a polished final edit. The broadcaster is clear that it’s ok to enter a demo version. And songwriters and performers can enter more than one song in the contest.
The guidelines also include a cavaet that warns: “ESCZ2022 might be cancelled if by any reason CT does not compete in Eurovision 2022.”
While this might sound worrying, it is likely more just a reflection of the uncertainly that many broadcasters face in the era of the pandemic.
Applications are not yet open, however the broadcaster says that details of how to apply will be made available no later than 17 September. Applications will then close on 30 September.
Details of exactly how ESCZ2022 will select the Czech song for Eurovision 2022 have not been confirmed. In the past, CT has released the studio version and live acoustic performances of the songs and picked the favourite using a jury vote and an online public vote.
The Czech Republic at Eurovision
The Czech Republic is one of the more recent additions to the Eurovision Song Contest, having made its debut in 2007. However, its early years were not so successful.
In its first three years, Czechia failed to qualify for the grand final three times, and even finished last in its semi-final twice, once with nil points.
The country took a break from Eurovision and returned in 2015 with a much better overall run of results. In 2016, Gabriela Gunčíková took Czechia into the grand final for the first time with her ballad “I Stand”.
In 2018, Mikolas Josef brought his cheeky R&B tune “Lie to Me” to Lisbon. He won over audiences and finished sixth in the grand final — the best ever result for the Czech Republic. Pop band Lake Malawi also did well the following year, finishing 11th with their song “Friend of a Friend”.
Benny Cristo represented the Czech Republic at Eurovision 2021. And while he had been selected from winning ESCZ2020, his song for Rotterdam had been internally selected following the cancellation of Eurovision 2020. “Omaga” finished 15th in its semi-final, missing out on the grand final.
What do you think? Who would you like to see represent the Czech Republic at Eurovision 2022? What sort of song should they send to Italy? Tell us your thoughts below!
Third time’s a charm, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Barbora Mochowa to participate with another ethereal moody track <3
Czechia NEEDS a NF where the audience decides after the televote failure since 2015 (with the exception of 2018, when I think STILL Mikolas collected more points in juries)
Benny was by far my biggest disappointment of the year. I loved the song and expected so much from him. I still can’t believe he thought that was appropriate/acceptable. It’s incredibly hard to look unbothered and still make a good impression. The only thing that’s in my mind since his semi is “Go girl, give us nothing!” And all of those breathy “yeah”s sounded exhausted instead of sexy. What a meme worthy trainwreck…
in the words of Sasha velour, Benny Cristo gave us all the excitement of a smile with the thrill of just standing there
Same. I remember his performance of Kemama in the Ukrainian national selection back when the contest wasn’t cancelled yet.. he was so energetic there and surprised everyone in a positive way. I remember people saying “If he performs this way in Rotterdam, he will definitely qualify and even possibly reach the TOP 10”. Well, that aged quickly. There must be some reasons probably cause, as you said, he gave the impression that he didn’t even want to try. I was almost sure that he would prove everyone wrong once the rehearsals would start and climb in the odds, but.. Pretty… Read more »
The situation in the Czech Republic during the election campaign is complicated, the current ruling party ANO is losing support, and what is worse, they want to take control of public television, which is independent, so the government puts pressure on television, and in addition they want to remove the president of public television, who restored the country to Eurovision, and in addition he is the vice president of the EBU, and the pirate party has a chance to win, which has a chance to overthrow the current power, so the public television has not issued an official decision, as… Read more »
correct choice. it was a pretty strong NF in 2020. unfortunately the Czechs have a tendency to pick the wrong song (i know we can vote as well but im pretty sure the majority of votes comes from them). still, very excited to see what they have to deliver this year.
I think that if their participation won’t be confirmed, the selection process will be closed. Hope to see Tea Sofia or ANNABELLE