Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026
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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.
Czech RepublicSong: 11 March 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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Background
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
Internal selection
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]
At Eurovision
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.[13] Czechia was scheduled for the first half of the second semi-final.[14]