MusicThe choice of singer Blanka Stajkow (23) as Poland’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest has caused controversy in the country. According to various journalists and followers of the song festival, the voting procedure was not fair. For example, a choreographer friend of Blanka would have been on the professional jury. Even more piquant: the results could be read online before the show.
An official letter has now been sent to Polish broadcaster Mateusz Matyszkowicz. It asks for clarification because of ethical doubts about the course of the Polish pre-selection. Blanka, who has to travel to Liverpool with the song ‘Solo’, won the national festival thanks to the professional jury. Singer Jann won with the audience. Immediately after the result, the social media channels of the singer and the Polish broadcaster were flooded with critical reactions.
The controversy was caused, among other things, by the presence of choreographer Agustin Egurrola in the professional jury. His dancers already regularly collaborated with Blanka. The Polish broadcaster did not want to comment directly on the allegations. “TVP reports that the selection of the Polish representative for the Eurovision Song Contest is transparent and in accordance with the procedures,” was their only response.
Detailed result already in the afternoon
More striking was that at 3.30 pm on the day of the grand final, a detailed result of the Polish preselection could already be found online. According to broadcaster TVP, it was a technical error, so that only the result had to be entered when it was announced. But that explanation is not enough. The profit was already fixed, fans and followers concluded. Not wanting to share the individual votes of the professional jury members makes the doubts about the fairness of the Polish pre-selection even greater.
There are now hundreds of calls on social media not to send Blanka to Liverpool, but Jann, the winner of the public vote. Comments are posted on YouTube and Instagram asking the singer to withdraw.
Poland also came under fire last edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The points of the country’s expert jury were scrapped. The organization found that the juries in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and San Marino all included each other in their top 5 in the second semi-final. This year it has been decided that the jury will no longer be able to vote in the semi-finals. That is still possible in the final.
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