Poland was represented at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1999 The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem, Israel. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Isra ...

with the song "", composed by

Seweryn Krajewski Seweryn Krajewski (born 3 January 1947, Nowa Sól, Poland) is a Polish singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the 1960s and 70s with the popular Polish band Czerwone Gitary. After leaving the group in 1997, he recorded several solo albums. ...

, with lyrics by Wojciech Ziembicki, and performed by Mietek Szcześniak. The Polish participating broadcaster, (TVP), internally selected its entry for the contest. The broadcaster announced the entry on 9 March 1999. Poland competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 29 May 1999. Performing during the show in position 12, Poland placed eighteenth out of the 23 participating countries, scoring 17 points.

Background

Prior to the 1999 Contest, (TVP) had participated in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

representing Poland five times since its first entry in . Its highest placement in the contest, to this point, has been second place, achieved with its debut entry in 1994 with the song "" performed by

Edyta Górniak Edyta Anna Górniak (; born 14 November 1972) is a Polish pop singer. Górniak started as a musical theatre actress in 1990. She performed in the most popular musical in Polish history, the Tony Award-nominated ''Metro (musical), Metro''. Some ...

. 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. Having internally selected their entries since 1994, the broadcaster opted to continue selecting its entry via an internal selection for 1999.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

TVP selected its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 via an internal selection. On 9 March 1999, TVP announced that Mietek Szcześniak would represent Poland in the 1999 contest with the song "", written by Seweryn Krajewski and Wojciech Ziembicki. TVP directly invited four artists to perform "" during a live audition round held in early 1999:

Andrzej Piaseczny Andrzej Tomasz Piaseczny (Polish: ; born 6 January 1971 in Pionki) more commonly known as Piasek, is a Polish singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality. Former :pl:Mafia (zespół muzyczny), Mafia singer, Member of the Phonographic Ac ...

Kasia Stankiewicz Kasia Maria Stankiewicz (born 2 June 1977, Działdowo, Poland) is a Polish pop singer. She started her career in 1995 singing a song by Varius Manx, a multi-platinum Polish band, in the TV song contest '' Szansa na sukces'' (A Chance for Succe ...

, Mietek Szcześniak, and

Natalia Kukulska Natalia Maria Kukulska (born 3 March 1976) is a Polish singer performing pop and contemporary R&B, R&B music, turning towards alternative electronic music, electronica in the 2010s. She debuted as a child singer in 1986, and released her first "a ...

, during which Szcześniak was selected by a selection committee to represent Poland. Among the members of the selection committee were Marek Sierocki (Head of Entertainment of

TVP1 TVP1 (TVP Jeden, ''Telewizja Polska 1'', ''Program Pierwszy Telewizji Polskiej'', ''"Jedynka"'') is the main public television channel of Telewizja Polska, TVP (Telewizja Polska S.A.), Poland's national television broadcaster. It was the first Po ...

Irena Santor Irena Wiśniewska-Santor (; ; born 9 December 1934) is a Polish singer, musical performer and actress. Her career started in 1950. She's noted for singing in clear mezzo-soprano, considered one of Poland's biggest icons and is referred to as an ...

(singer and actress) and Wojciech Gąssowski (singer and composer).

At Eurovision

Poland performed in position 12, following the entry from and before the entry from . Poland finished in eighteenth place with 17 points. The show was broadcast in Poland on

and

TVP Polonia TVP Polonia (formerly known as TV Polonia) is the international channel of the Telewizja Polska (TVP). The channel is co-funded by the Telewizja Polska, TVP and the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Ministry for Foreign ...

with commentary by

Artur Orzech Artur Orzech (born 22 February 1964) is a Polish journalist, musician, iranologist, radio and television presenter and music broadcaster. Early life and education Orzech graduated from ''IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Adama Mickiewicza w War ...

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Poland and awarded by Poland in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Germany in the contest. TVP appointed Maciej Orłoś as its spokesperson to announce the Polish votes during the final.

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1999

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...