In a recent press announcement from Czech Republic’s delegation, it has been announced that the country will select their 2023 Eurovision artist during a televised national final. The live show is scheduled for Monday, January 30th at a currently unknown time.
This stands as a historic moment for the Czech delegation and ČT, who have not utilized a national selection since their first two years in Eurovision, 2007 and 2008 respectively. In both years the Czech Republic would fail to qualify out of their semi-final, and led to a number of internal selections in 2009 and 2015 through 2017. The broadcaster then introduced an online selection format which has selected all Czech entries from 2017 to 2022.
In speaking about the decision in the press release, Head of Delegation Kryštof Šámal stated that “I am proud of how the ESCZ brand has grown in the Czech music scene; the platform is becoming extremely interesting and attractive. I am pleased to announce that we have received an overwhelming response from the Czech music industry.
He would go on to say that “More than 170 songs were submitted – mostly from Czech composers – and all with Czech vocalists. Picking just a handful of songs is getting more and more difficult and we hope to finalize the names of the finalists in the coming days.”
More details are set to be released in the coming weeks including who has been selected to compete in ESCZ 2023. However, it has been previously stated that only three artists will be selected to perform in the national selection. The selection is expected to utilize a three-part voting structure that features an international vote, Czech public voting, and an international expert jury to decide a winner.
The Czech Republic was last represented by We Are Domi at Eurovision 2022. Despite finishing 4th in the second semi-final on May 12th, the band would ultimately finish in 22nd place during the Grand Final with 38 points.
Are #YOU excited to watch the first Czech national final in 15 years? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
