Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
participated in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2014
The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European ...
with the song "
My Słowianie – We Are Slavic" written and performed by
Donatan
Donatan, (born Witold Marek Czamara on 2 September 1984 in Kraków) is a Polish musician, music producer and sound engineer. Donatan along with Teka co-created RafPak.
Life and career
Donatan was born to a Russian mother and Polish father. He ...
and
Cleo Cleo may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Cleo'' (magazine), an Australian magazine established in 1972, now active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand
* Cleo (group), a South Korean girl group formed in 1999
* ''Cleo'' (play), by Lawren ...
. In December 2013, the Polish broadcaster
Telewizja Polska
Telewizja Polska S.A. (; "Polish Television"; TVP), also known in English as the public Polish Television is a Polish state media corporation. It is the largest Polish television network, although viewership has been declining in the 2010s.
Sinc ...
(TVP) announced that it would be returning the Eurovision Song Contest after a two-year absence, and that the Polish entry for the 2014 contest in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
would be selected through an internal selection. "My Słowianie – We Are Slavic" performed by Donatan and Cleo was announced as the Polish entry on 25 February 2014 during the TVP1 programme ''Świat się kręci'', while the song was presented to the public on 18 March 2014.
Poland was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 8 May 2014. Performing during the show in position 5, "My Słowianie – We Are Slavic" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 10 May. It was later revealed that Poland placed eighth out of the 15 participating countries in the semi-final with 70 points. In the final, Poland performed in position 9 and placed fourteenth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 62 points.
Background
Prior to the 2014 contest, Poland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixteen times since its first entry in . Poland's highest placement in the contest, to this point, has been second place, which the nation achieved with its debut entry in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
with the song "
To nie ja!
"To nie ja!" (; "It wasn't me!"; often rendered without the exclamation mark) was the entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, performed in Polish by Edyta Górniak. This marked Poland's debut at the contest, and consequently the first time th ...
" performed by
Edyta Górniak
Edyta Anna Górniak (; born 14 November 1972) is a Polish pop singer with a career spanning 3 decades. Górniak started as a musical theatre actress in 1990. She performed in the most popular musical in Polish history, the Tony Award-nominated ...
. Poland has only, thus far, reached the top ten on one other occasion, when
Ich Troje
Ich Troje ("The Three of Them") is a Polish pop band. Ich Troje was founded in 1996 by songwriter Michał Wiśniewski and composer Jacek Łągwa. Since 2000, Ich Troje has been one of the most successful Polish groups. They have sold more than 1.5 ...
performing the song "Keine Grenzen – Żadnych granic" finished seventh in
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
. Between 2005 and 2011, Poland failed to qualify from the semi-final round six out of seven years with only their
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
entry, "For Life" performed by
Isis Gee
Tamara Diane Wimer (born October 11, 1972), known professionally as Tamara Gee (formerly Isis Gee), is an American pop singer and songwriter. She grew up singing and performing from the age of 5, and was a professional vocalist by the time she w ...
, managing to take the nation to the final during that period. After once again failing to qualify to the final in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
with their entry "Jestem" performed by
Magdalena Tul
Magdalena Ewa Tul (born 29 April 1980) is a Polish singer and composer. In 2000 she moved from Gdańsk to Warsaw where she started working as a singer and actress for Studio Buffo, a musical theater. She performed there as a lead singer in ''Metr ...
, the country withdrew from the contest during 2012 and 2013 citing reasons such as to focus on the
2012 UEFA European Football Championship (which Poland co-hosted with Ukraine) and the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, as well as the contest lacking focus on music and the presence of voting among neighbouring countries behind the decision.
The Polish national broadcaster,
Telewizja Polska
Telewizja Polska S.A. (; "Polish Television"; TVP), also known in English as the public Polish Television is a Polish state media corporation. It is the largest Polish television network, although viewership has been declining in the 2010s.
Sinc ...
(TVP), broadcasts the event within Poland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Following a two-year absence, TVP confirmed Poland's participation in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest on 5 December 2013 after being motivated by a reduction in participation fees by the
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
. Between 2006 and 2011, TVP organised televised national finals that featured a competition among several artists and songs in order to select the Polish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. For the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, TVP opted to internally select the Polish entry.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
TVP announced in January 2014 that the Polish entry for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest would be selected via an internal selection and would be presented in February 2014. The six-member selection committee that selected the Polish entry consisted of Mikołaj Dobrowolski (Head of Delegation for Poland at the Eurovision Song Contest), Maria Szabłowska (music journalist at TVP and
Polish Radio
Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna (PR S.A.; English: Polish Radio) is Poland's national public-service radio broadcasting organization owned by the State Treasury of Poland.
History
Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began making ...
),
Artur Orzech
Artur Dariusz Orzech (born 22 February 1964, in Jelenia Góra) is a Polish journalist, radio and television presenter and music broadcaster.
After graduating from ''IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Adama Mickiewicza w Warszawie'' in 1983 with an ...
(Eurovision commentator, radio and television journalist and presenter), Krzysztof Szewczyk (journalist), Marek Sierocki (music journalist) and Paweł Sztompkę (journalist, music critic and editorial director of music at
Polish Radio
Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna (PR S.A.; English: Polish Radio) is Poland's national public-service radio broadcasting organization owned by the State Treasury of Poland.
History
Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began making ...
), and
OGAE
The (OGAE) () is a non-governmental and non-profit international organisation, consisting of 42 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs from across Europe and beyond. It was founded in 1984 in Savonlinna, Finland by Jaripekka Koikkalainen.
Four non-p ...
Poland was also involved in the selection process.
On 20 February 2014 during the
TVP1
TVP1 (TVP Jeden, ''Program I Telewizji Polskiej'', ''"Jedynka"'') is the main public television channel of TVP (Telewizja Polska S.A.), Poland's national television broadcaster. It was the first Polish channel to be broadcast and remains one ...
programme ''Świat się kręci'', hosted by Agata Młynarska, it was announced that
Donatan
Donatan, (born Witold Marek Czamara on 2 September 1984 in Kraków) is a Polish musician, music producer and sound engineer. Donatan along with Teka co-created RafPak.
Life and career
Donatan was born to a Russian mother and Polish father. He ...
and
Cleo Cleo may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Cleo'' (magazine), an Australian magazine established in 1972, now active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand
* Cleo (group), a South Korean girl group formed in 1999
* ''Cleo'' (play), by Lawren ...
would represent Poland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "
My Słowianie
"My Słowianie" (English: We Slavs), also known as "My Słowianie - We Are Slavic", is a song by Polish record producer Donatan and singer Cleo. It was released on 4 November 2013 as a digital download. The song reached number two in the Polish ...
", written by Donatan and Cleo themselves. In the months prior to the selection announcement, the duo were heavily rumoured on social media to represent Poland after they attended a meeting with TVP regarding the 2014 contest. Among the other artists considered by TVP before Donatan and Cleo were selected included
Doda,
Margaret
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
and
Marina Łuczenko
Marina Łuczenko-Szczęsna ( née Łuczenko; born 3 July 1989), known mononymously as Marina (stylized as MaRina), is a Polish singer, songwriter and actress.
She is married to Polish footballer Wojciech Szczęsny. They have a son.
Biography
19 ...
.
The
Polish language
Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...
version of the song, titled "My Słowianie" and released in November 2013, previously received media exposure for its music video which mocks Polish stereotypes. "My Słowianie" was edited for the Eurovision Song Contest since the song exceeded three minutes, and featured additional lyrics in English.
The bilingual version, titled "My Słowianie – We Are Slavic", was released on 18 March 2014 via the official Eurovision Song Contest's
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel.
Promotion
Donatan and Cleo made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "My Słowianie – We Are Slavic" as the Polish Eurovision entry. On 29 March, Donatan and Cleo performed during the ''Eurovision PreParty Riga'', which was organised by
OGAE
The (OGAE) () is a non-governmental and non-profit international organisation, consisting of 42 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs from across Europe and beyond. It was founded in 1984 in Savonlinna, Finland by Jaripekka Koikkalainen.
Four non-p ...
Latvia and held at the Andalūzijas Suns in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, Latvia. On 13 April, Donatan and Cleo performed during the ''London Eurovision Party'', which was held at the Café de Paris venue in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, United Kingdom and hosted by
Nicki French Nicki is a given name, and may refer to:
Film and television
* Nicki Aycox (1975-2022), American actress best known for her roles as Syl on the series ''Dark Angel'' and Stella Vessey on the dramedy ''Ed''
* Nicki Chapman (born 1967), English tel ...
and
Paddy O'Connell
Guy Patrick O'Connell (born 11 March 1966 in Guildford, Surrey) is an English television and radio presenter, working mainly for the BBC. He presents BBC Radio 4's ''Broadcasting House'' programme each Sunday morning. He is also an occasional ...
.
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
(EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 20 January 2014, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in.
Poland was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 8 May 2014, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.
Once all the competing songs for the 2014 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Poland was set to perform in position 5, following the entry from
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and before the entry from
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
.
The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Poland on
TVP1
TVP1 (TVP Jeden, ''Program I Telewizji Polskiej'', ''"Jedynka"'') is the main public television channel of TVP (Telewizja Polska S.A.), Poland's national television broadcaster. It was the first Polish channel to be broadcast and remains one ...
,
TVP1 HD and
TVP Polonia
TVP Polonia (formerly known as TV Polonia) is the international channel of the Telewizja Polska (TVP). The channel is co-funded by the TVP and the Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and broadcasts from the TVP headquarters in Warsaw.
TVP Polon ...
with commentary by
Artur Orzech
Artur Dariusz Orzech (born 22 February 1964, in Jelenia Góra) is a Polish journalist, radio and television presenter and music broadcaster.
After graduating from ''IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Adama Mickiewicza w Warszawie'' in 1983 with an ...
. The three shows also aired on a one-day delay on
TVP Rozrywka
TVP Rozrywka is a Polish free-to-air television channel. It was launched on 15 April 2013 and focuses its programming on entertainment TV series.
It is broadcast from the Telewizja Polska (TVP) headquarters in Warsaw .
Availability
Now
T ...
. The Polish spokesperson, who announced the Polish votes during the final, was Paulina Chylewska.
Semi-final
Cleo, appearing without Donatan on stage, took part in technical rehearsals on 29 April and 3 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 7 and 8 May. This included the jury show on 7 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.
The Polish performance featured Cleo performing with three female backing vocalists/dancers and two female models, all in traditional Polish outfits. During the performance, the models suggestively churned butter and washed laundry on stage. The stage LED screens displayed white and red Polish ornaments.
The backing performers that joined Cleo on stage were members of the
Mazowsze
Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...
folk group, Alesia Turonak, Sylwia Klan and Anna Łapińska, while the models were members of the Śląsk folk ensemble, Ola Ciupa and Paula Tumala.
At the end of the show, Poland was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Poland placed eighth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 70 points.
Final
Shortly after the second semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Poland was drawn to compete in the first half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Poland was subsequently placed to perform in position 9, following the entry from
Montenegro
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, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
and before the entry from
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.
Cleo once again took part in dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Cleo performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 10 May. Poland placed fourteenth in the final, scoring 62 points.
Voting
Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Poland and awarded by Poland in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
Points awarded to Poland
Points awarded by Poland
Detailed voting results
The following members comprised the Polish jury:
* (jury chairperson)radio journalist
* Dorota Szpetkowskajournalist
* singer
*
Magdalena Tul
Magdalena Ewa Tul (born 29 April 1980) is a Polish singer and composer. In 2000 she moved from Gdańsk to Warsaw where she started working as a singer and actress for Studio Buffo, a musical theater. She performed there as a lead singer in ''Metr ...
singer, represented
Poland in the 2011 contest
* singer, represented
Poland in the 1999 contest
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2014
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...