Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 explained

Year:2003
Broadcaster:Polish: [[Telewizja Polska]]|i=no (TVP)
Country:Poland
Preselection:Polish: Krajowe Eliminacje do Konkursu Piosenki Eurowizji 2003
Preselection Date:25 January 2003
Entrant:Ich Troje
Song:Polish: Keine Grenzen – Żadnych granic|i=no
Final Result:7th, 90 points
Prev:2001
Next:2004

Poland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Polish: Keine Grenzen – Żadnych granic|i=no", written by André Franke, Joachim Horn-Bernges, Michał Wiśniewski, and Jacek Łągwa, and performed by the band Ich Troje. The Polish participating broadcaster, Polish: [[Telewizja Polska]]|i=no (TVP), organised the national final Polish: Krajowe Eliminacje do Konkursu Piosenki Eurowizji 2003 in order to select its entry for the contest. The broadcaster returned to the contest after a one-year absence following its relegation in as one of the bottom six entrants in . The national final took place on 25 January 2003 and featured fourteen entries. "Polish: Keine Grenzen – Żadnych granic|i=no" performed by Ich Troje was selected as the winner after gaining 31.8% of the public vote.

Poland competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 24 May 2003. Performing during the show in position 20, Poland placed seventh out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 90 points.

Background

See main article: Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the 2003 Contest, Polish: [[Telewizja Polska]]|i=no (TVP) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Poland seven times since its first entry in .[1] Its highest placement in the contest, to this point, has been second place, achieved with its debut entry with the song "Polish: [[To nie ja!]]|i=no" performed by Edyta Górniak.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, TVP organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its participation in the 2003 contest on 19 September 2002. Since 1994, the broadcaster opted to internally select its entries. However, along with its participation confirmation, TVP announced that it would select its entry for the 2003 contest via a national final for the first time.

Before Eurovision

Polish: Krajowe Eliminacje do Konkursu Piosenki Eurowizji 2003

Polish: Krajowe Eliminacje do Konkursu Piosenki Eurowizji 2003 was the national final organised by TVP in order to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2003. The broadcaster hold the show on 25 January 2003 at its Studio 5 in Warsaw, hosted by Artur Orzech. Public televoting exclusively selected the winner. The show was broadcast on TVP1 and TVP Polonia as well as via radio on Radio Eska. The national final was watched by 7.27 million viewers in Poland with a market share of 46%.[2]

Competing entries

TVP opened a submission period for interested artists and songwriters to submit their entries between 19 September 2002 and 15 November 2002.[3] The broadcaster received 43 submissions at the closing of the deadline.[4] A six-member selection committee selected fifteen entries from the received submissions to compete in the national final. The selection committee consisted of Janusz Kosiński (journalist), Zygmunt Kukla (conductor, composer), Leszek Kumański (TV director, screenwriter and producer), Marek Sierocki (Head of Entertainment of TVP1 and artistic directors of the Opole Festival and Sopot Festival), Hirek Wrona (journalist) and Piotr Klatt (musician, songwriter, journalist and music producer at TVP).[5] The selected entries were announced on 30 November 2002.[6] On 11 December 2002, "Pierwszy raz", written by Piotr Rubik and Jolanta Literska and to have been performed by Georgina Tarasiuk, was disqualified from the national final due to the singer not being aged at least 16 on the day of the Eurovision Song Contest 2003.[7]

Final

The televised final took place on 25 January 2003. Fourteen entries competed and the winner, "Polish: Keine Grenzen – Żadnych granic|i=no" performed by Ich Troje, was determined entirely by a public vote. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Edyta Górniak (who represented Poland in 1994) opened the show with her new single "Impossible", while the band Bajm performed as the interval act.[8]

Final – 25 January 2003
DrawArtistSongSongwriter(s)TelevotePlace
1Adieu"Time"Robert Janson
2Benedek"Here Comes Your Time"Jan Benedek
3Blue Café"You May Be in Love"Tatiana Okupnik, Paweł Rurak-Sokal17.2%3
4Bracia Cugowscy"Missing Every Moment"Wojtek Cugowski
5Magda Femme and Spotlight"I Believe in You"Tomasz Lubert, Anna Celinska, Magda Femme
6Gosia"Remember"Gosia Andrzejewicz
7Ha-Dwa-O"Tylko bądź"Tomek Konfederak, Bartek Wielgosz, Sonia Neumann
8Ich Troje"Keine Grenzen – Żadnych granic"André Franke, Joachim Horn-Bernges, Michał Wiśniewski, Jacek Łągwa31.8%1
9Ira"Femme Fatale"Zdzislaw Zabierzewski
10Ocean Front"Zakochany"Mark Kocikiewicz
11Stachursky"Tam gdzie ty"Jacek Laszczok, Daniel Maczura, Mietek Jurecki
12Varius Manx"Sonny"Olissa Rae-Remiszewska, Robert Janson
13Wilki"Here I Am"Monika Gawlińska, Robert Gawliński29.2%2
14Zdobywcy Pewnych Oskarów"Pia"Wojciech Jan Pytkowski, Marcin Ciepiel

Controversy

Following the Polish national final, it was revealed that approximately 300,000 votes were submitted by the public with less than 25% being successfully transmitted and registered during the 15-minute voting window, due to the system operated by the telecom provider being overwhelmed by the high influx of votes.[9] [10] Following media and public inquiries, TVP published the voting percentage of the top three entries with the addition of the delayed votes on 27 January, which revealed that the results remain unchanged despite the margin between the top two entries being shortened.[11] Unconfirmed reports also suggested that Varius Manx, Bracia Cugowscy and Ha-Dwa-O had placed fourth to sixth, respectively.[12]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the bottom ten countries in the 2002 contest competed in the final on 24 May 2003.[13] On 29 November 2002, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Poland was set to perform in position 20, following the entry from and before the entry from .[14] Poland finished in seventh place with 70 points.[15]

The show was broadcast in Poland on TVP1 and TVP Polonia with commentary by Artur Orzech. TVP appointed Maciej Orłoś as its spokesperson to announce the Polish votes during the show.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Poland and awarded by Poland in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to in the contest.[16]

Detailed voting results

TVP opted to use exclusively SMS voting to determine the points awarded by Poland in the contest.[18] Broadcasters were required to assemble back-up juries that consisted of eight voting members, with age and gender equally distributed, in the case of televote failure on the night of the competition; the top three countries, as ranked by the Polish back-up jury, were later revealed by TVP. The Polish jury consisted of Marta Gach, Piotr Rzeczycki, Dorota Miśkiewicz, Krzysztof Wydrzycki, Agnieszka Olszewska, Tomasz Augustyniak, Aneta Strypikowska and Zygmunt Kukla, with Janusz Kosiński as the jury chairperson.[19]

National juries and the public in each country are not allowed to vote for their own country, a rule first introduced in 1957.[20] [21] However, 19,894 votes for the Polish entry were still recorded in Poland, which were deemed invalid.[22]

+Detailed televoting results from Poland
DrawCountryTelevotesRankPoints
013,630101
023,61711
032,83815
043,90192
052,08120
0687625
072,01121
081,76224
092,60216
107,43565
116,83374
123,39513
131,84023
143,34214
151,95622
169,772210
172,20419
187,68056
194,25383
20
212,20518
2211,018112
233,47112
249,14938
259,09647
262,21517
Detailed back-up jury results from Poland[23] [24]
DrawCountryRank
01data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
02data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
03data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
04data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
05data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
06data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
07data-sort-value="3" style="background:#CC9966;"3
08data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
09data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
10data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
11data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
12data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
13data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
14data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
15data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
16data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
17data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
18data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
19data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
20data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
21data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
22data-sort-value="2" style="background:silver;"2
23data-sort-value="1" style="background:gold;" 1
24data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
25data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"
26data-sort-value="4" style="background:#AAAAAA;"

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Poland Country Profile. 19 January 2015. EBU.
  2. Web site: 28 January 2003. Eurowizja i Telekamery. 4 October 2021. Wirtualne Media. pl.
  3. Web site: 19 September 2002. Kto będzie reprezentował Polskę na Festiwalu Eurowizja?. 4 October 2021. Wirtualne Media. pl.
  4. Web site: Górecki. Kamil. 6 November 2003. Names of Polish finalists released.
  5. Web site: 21 November 2002. EUROWIZJA: 15. POLSKICH KANDYDATÓW. 4 October 2021. Interia Muzyka. pl.
  6. Web site: Górecki. Kamil. 30 November 2002. TVP released details about Polish national final. Esctoday.
  7. Web site: Górecki. Kamil. 11 December 2002. Georgina will not take part in Polish final. 4 October 2021. Esctoday.
  8. Web site: 21 January 2003. W sobotę krajowy finał konkursu Eurowizji. live. 4 October 2021. wp.pl. https://web.archive.org/web/20140116115042/http://wiadomosci.wp.pl/kat,1342,title,W-sobote-krajowy-final-konkursu-Eurowizji,wid,414314,wiadomosc.html. 16 January 2014. pl.
  9. Web site: Górecki. Kamil. 27 January 2003. 300,000 SMS votes were waiting to be counted!. 4 October 2021. Esctoday.
  10. Web site: 26 January 2009. Polska w Eurowizji. 4 October 2021. eurowizja.info. pl.
  11. Web site: Górecki. Kamil. 28 January 2003. Ich Troje's advantage is only 3 percent. 4 October 2021. Esctoday.
  12. http://natfinals.50webs.com/90s_00s/Poland2003.html ESC National Finals database 2003
  13. Web site: 20 November 2002. RULES OF THE 2003 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20030414040437/http://www.ebu.ch/news/pdf/ESC2003Rules.pdf. 14 April 2003. 16 November 2013. European Broadcasting Union. European Broadcasting Union.
  14. Web site: Bakker. Sietse. 28 November 2002. Draw to be made public Friday 17:00 CET. 16 November 2013. ESCToday.com.
  15. Web site: Final of Riga 2003. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210407194917/https://eurovision.tv/event/riga-2003/final. 7 April 2021. 7 April 2021. European Broadcasting Union.
  16. https://www.esc-history.com/details.php?key=0909 ESC History - Eurovision - Poland 2003
  17. Web site: Results of the Final of Riga 2003 . European Broadcasting Union . 7 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210407201146/https://eurovision.tv/event/riga-2003/final/results/poland . 7 April 2021 . live.
  18. Web site: Medinika . Aija . 2003-05-24 . Poland will use SMS-voting only . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201029201440/http://esctoday.com/1631/poland_will_use_sms-voting_only/ . 2020-10-29 . 2024-09-01 . ESCToday.
  19. Web site: Eurowizja - kto ocenia polskie propozycje i kto oceniał występy Europy . Eurovision - who assessed the Polish entries and who assessed the European performances . 2024-09-01 . . pl.
  20. Web site: 2017-05-03 . Eurovision Song Contest: Voting . 2024-09-01 . Eurovision Song Contest.
  21. Web site: Eurovision Song Contest: Frankfurt 1957 . 2024-09-01 . Eurovision Song Contest.
  22. Web site: Górecki . Kamil . 2003-06-11 . Results of the Polish SMS-voting . https://web.archive.org/web/20230421190112/https://esctoday.com/1691/results_of_the_polish_sms-voting/ . 2023-04-21 . 2024-09-01 . ESCToday.
  23. Web site: 2003: Ich Troje . 2024-09-01 . 25lat.eurowizja.org . pl.
  24. Web site: Górecki . Kamil . 2003-06-07 . Top 3 songs of the Polish backup jury . https://web.archive.org/web/20230422173529/https://esctoday.com/1676/top_3_songs_of_the_polish_backup_jury/ . 2023-04-22 . 2024-09-01 . ESCToday.