Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026
| Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Czech Television (ČT) | |||
| Country |  Czech Republic | |||
| Selection process | Internal selection | |||
| Announcement date | Artist: 8 March 2026 Song: 11 March 2026 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Crossroads" | |||
| Artist | Daniel Zizka | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Participation chronology | ||||
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The Czech Republic, presented as Czechia, is set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the song "Crossroads", written by Daniel Žižka and Viliam Béreš, and performed by Žižka himself, with his last name stylised without diacritics. The Czech participating broadcaster, Czech Television (ČT), internally selected its entry for the contest.
Background
[edit]Prior to the 2026 contest, Czech Television (ČT) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing the Czech Republic, presented as Czechia since 2023, thirteen times since its first entry in 2007. Its best result in the contest was sixth, achieved in 2018 with the song "Lie to Me" performed by Mikolas Josef. It competed in the contest on three consecutive occasions between 2007 and 2009 without qualifying to the final, after which ČT withdrew between 2010 and 2014, citing low viewing figures and poor results as reasons for its absence.[1] Since returning to the contest in 2015, the Czech Republic has thus far managed to qualify for the final on five occasions. In 2025, "Kiss Kiss Goodbye" performed by Adonxs failed to qualify for the final.[2]
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, ČT organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster had used both national finals and internal selections to select its entries in the past. Between 2018 and 2020, and between 2022 and 2024, the national final format ESCZ (formerly titled Eurovision Song CZ) was used as the selection method, while in 2021 and 2025, the Czech entry was internally selected.[3] ČT confirmed its intention to participate in the 2026 contest on 3 September 2025, announcing that it would continue to internally select its entry.[4]
Before Eurovision
[edit]Internal selection
[edit]
ČT announced in September 2025 that the Czech entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 would be selected internally. Artists and composers were able to submit their proposals to the broadcaster between 3 September 2025 and 19 October 2025.[5] At least one of the main performers was required to either have Czech citizenship, be based in the Czech Republic, or be active on the Czech music scene. Songwriters of any nationality were able to submit songs, and were not required to indicate a performer for their song, who would be selected afterwards.[6][7] The broadcaster received over 260 submissions at the closing of the deadline, and it was announced in December 2025 that eight entries had been shortlisted.[8][9]
On 8 March 2026, "Crossroads" performed by Daniel Zizka was announced by ČT as the Czech entry for the 2026 contest.[10][11] The selection of Zizka and the song, written together with Viliam Béreš, was determined by the combination of votes from an international jury of music professionals and a demoscopic jury composed of members from three countries following an audition round at the ČT studios, and was presented to the public on 11 March alongside an accompanying music video.[11][12]
Composition of "Crossroads"
[edit]The song writing process for "Crossroads" took approximately a year and a half and after this period it took a further six months to produce the song.[13][14] When asked whether he kept revisiting the song during this period that he was writing it, Žižka responded "Yes... ...there was so many versions. First, I had the initial like riff or the motive that kind of led the songwriting process on and, uh I wanted to have it, this like, major to minor tonality. Uh, so I kept exploring with the harmony and I felt like there was so many options, too many ways. Uh, and then some lyrics started popping up and then it kind of just happened...".[13]
The song explores the idea of what happens when a person is standing "...at an imaginary crossroads and must choose a further path."[14]
At Eurovision
[edit]The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Italy 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 will progress to the final. On 12 January 2026, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country will perform in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[15] Czechia was scheduled for the first half of the second semi-final.[16] The shows' producers then decided the running order for the semi-finals; Czechia was set to perform in position 5.[17]
The staging of Daniel Zizka's performance at the contest will be directed by Ruy Okamura.[18] On 14 May, "Crossroads" qualified for the final, being the last qualifier announced.[19]
References
[edit]- ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (30 September 2013). "Eurovision 2014: Czech Republic will not participate in Copenhagen". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
- ^ "Second Semi-Final of Basel 2025 – Detailed voting results"". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ Grace, Emily (9 September 2024). "🇨🇿 Czechia: Eurovision 2025 Artist To Be Selected Through Internal Competition". Eurovoix. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (3 September 2025). "🇨🇿 Czechia: Česká televize Confirms Eurovision 2026 Participation". Eurovoix. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ^ "Czechia: 260 Songs Submitted for Eurovision 2026". Eurovoix.com.
- ^ "Česko nebude chybět na Eurovizi 2026 v Rakousku!". ESCArena.cz (in Czech). 4 September 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ^ "Výběr českého reprezentanta 2026 – Eurovision Song Contest" [Selection of the Czech representative 2026 – Eurovision Song Contest]. Česká televize (in Czech). 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "Výběr českého reprezentanta 2026 – Eurovision Song Contest" [Selection of the Czech representative 2026 – Eurovision Song Contest]. Česká televize (in Czech). 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ Lahav, Doron (19 December 2025). "Czechia: 8 Artists Remained in The Race For Eurovision 2026". ESCBEAT. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (1 March 2026). "Czechia: Eurovision 2026 Entry to be Revealed on March 8". Eurovoix News. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
- ^ a b "Daniel Zizka is Czechia's artist for 2026". Eurovision Song Contest. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ "Důležitá je autentičnost, reaguje Žižka na otázku ohledně bizarností na Eurovizi". iDNES.cz (in Czech). 21 March 2026. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ^ a b Episode 21: Delta Goodrem 🇦🇺 & Daniel Zizka 🇨🇿. The Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast. Eurovision. 7 May 2026. Event occurs at 19:00. Retrieved 15 May 2025 – via YouTube.
Žižka:"...like when we were prod, producing it, because I'm very hands-on artist, so I'm part of every second of of the production too. So, and then year and a half before I was writing it. So the song is with me for a very long time... Holden:...Well, especially if you've had it for year, a year and a half. Some some people say they write a song in 15 minutes. A year and a half is a long time. Do you keep coming back to it? Do you kind of do a little bit come back like you kept revisiting it while writing it? Žižka:Yes... ...there was so many versions. First, I had the initial like riff or the motive that kind of led the songwriting process on and uh I wanted to have it this like major to minor tonality. Uh so I kept exploring with the harmony and I felt like there was so many options, too many ways. Uh, and then some lyrics started popping up and then it kind of just happened..."
- ^ a b "Na životní křižovatce. Žižka zveřejnil píseň, se kterou jede na Eurovizi". Seznam Zprávy (in Czech). 11 March 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
The composition, on which Žižka collaborated with pianist and producer Viliam Béreš, took approximately two years to create. According to the creators, it deals with the decision-making process and moments in life when a person stands at an imaginary crossroads and must choose a further path. "The song captures the inner struggle and doubts that accompany such decisions...
- ^ "The Semi-Final Draw for Vienna 2026: All you need to know". Eurovision.com. EBU. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ^ "Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision.com. EBU. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
- ^ "Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Running Orders revealed". Eurovision.com. EBU. 2 April 2026. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
- ^ "Na životní křižovatce. Žižka zveřejnil píseň, se kterou jede na Eurovizi" [At a crossroads in life. Žižka has released the song he'll be performing at Eurovision]. Seznam Zprávy (in Czech). 11 March 2026. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ^ "Eurovision 2026: The First Semi-Final Qualifiers". Eurovision Song Contest. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.