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Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

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The Czech Republic, presented as Czechia, was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "Pedestal", written by Alena Shirmanova-Kostebelova and Steven Ansell, and performed by Shirmanova-Kostebelova herself under her stage name Aiko. The Czech participating broadcaster Česká televize (ČT) organised the national final ESCZ 2024 in order to select its entry for the contest.

Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Participating broadcasterČeská televize (ČT)
Country Czech Republic
National selection
Selection processESCZ 2024
Selection date(s)13 December 2023
Selected artist(s)Aiko
Selected song"Pedestal"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (11th)
Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2023 • 2024 • 2025►

Czechia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 2024. Performing during the show in position 5, "Pedestal" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Czechia placed eleventh out of the 16 participating countries in the semi-final with 38 points.

Background

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Main article: Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2024 contest, Česká televize (ČT) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing the Czech Republic eleven times since its first entry in 2007.[1] It competed in the contest on three consecutive occasions between 2007 and 2009 without qualifying to the final. After "Aven Romale" performed by Gipsy.cz placed 18th (last) in their semi-final in 2009, failing to score any points, ČT withdrew from the contest between 2010 and 2014, citing low viewing figures and poor results as reasons for its absence.[2] Since returning to the contest in 2015 and qualifying to the final for the first time in 2016, it had featured in five finals. In 2023, it qualified for the final with the song "My Sister's Crown" performed by Vesna, ultimately placing 10th with 129 points.

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 again since 2022, it had used the national final format ESCZ (formerly titled Eurovision Song CZ) as its selection method for the contest. On 16 October 2023, ČT confirmed its intention to participate in the 2024 contest, with its entry to be selected again via ESCZ.[3]

Before Eurovision

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Aiko, winner of ESCZ 2024, at the PrePartyES event in Madrid

ESCZ 2024

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ESCZ 2024 was the sixth edition of ESCZ, the national final organised by ČT in order to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition consisted of a live final held in Prague on 4 December 2023 followed by a voting round lasting until 11 December 2023.[3][4][5]

Competing entries

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Upon confirming its participation in the contest on 16 October 2023, ČT opened a submission window for interested artists and composers lasting until 7 November 2023. At least one of the performers was required to have either Czech or Slovak citizenship for an entry to qualify to compete, while songwriters could be of any nationality.[3][6]

On 14 November 2023, ČT announced that five finalist entries were being selected by music advisor Cesár Sampson (2018 representative for Austria) and the Czech delegation for the contest from over 200 submissions received, with the names of the artists to be revealed shortly; it was later clarified that the number of selected finalists may rise up to seven. The seven finalists were revealed on 28 November 2023; some of their songs, originally to be unveiled on the day of the final, were released earlier.[5][7][8][9][10][11]

Artist Song Songwriter(s)
Aiko "Pedestal"
Elly "The Angel's Share"
  • Argyle Singh
  • Eliška Tunková
  • Jan Vávra
  • Rony Janeček
Gianna Lei "Starlet"
  • Gianna Leilani Rivolová
  • Morten Bergholt
Lenny "Good Enough"
Mydy [cs] "Red Flag Parade"
  • Jakub Svoboda [cs]
  • Maria Broberg
  • Mikuláš Pejcha
  • Ondřej Slánský
  • Paweł "Leon" Krześniak
  • Žofie Dařbujánová
Tom Sean [cs] "Dopamine Overdose"
  • Edwin Lindberg
  • Jan Vávra
  • Lukas Hällgren
  • Tomas Sean Pšenička
Tomas Robin "Out of My Mind"
  • Martin Zaujec
  • Tomáš Červinka
  • Tomáš Lobb

Final

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The seven competing entries were performed during a live show at the Roxy [cs] in Prague on 4 December 2023, hosted for the second time in a row by Adam Mišík [cs] and co-hosted by Cesár Sampson.[4][8] The show was broadcast on ČT art as well as via ČT's streaming platform iVysílání and the official Eurovision Song Contest's YouTube channel,[7] and featured Lake Malawi and We Are Domi (2019 and 2022 Czech representatives at Eurovision) as guest performers.[12] The winner was determined by a weighted combination of an international and a Czech public vote held via the official Eurovision Song Contest application until 11 December 2023.[5][13][14][15] The winner, Aiko with "Pedestal", was announced on 13 December; it was also revealed that nearly 98 thousand votes had been cast.[16] The full results were published shortly after on Instagram.[15][17]

Draw Artist Song Czech vote International vote Total Place
Votes Weighted Votes Weighted
1 Aiko "Pedestal" 2,410 723 33,107 23,175 23,898 1
2 Elly "The Angel's Share" 24,679 7,404 7,817 5,472 12,876 2
3 Gianna Lei "Starlet" 372 112 773 541 653 7
4 Lenny "Good Enough" 4,216 1,265 1,586 1,110 2,375 5
5 Mydy "Red Flag Parade" 6,443 1,933 7,283 5,098 7,031 3
6 Tom Sean "Dopamine Overdose" 3,331 999 3,573 2,501 3,500 4
7 Tomas Robin "Out of My Mind" 728 218 1,563 1,094 1,313 6

Preparation and promotion

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In late January 2024, ČT's Ahmad Halloun shared a tweet mentioning a "new version" of "Pedestal", suggesting the song was undergoing a revamp ahead of the contest;[18] this was confirmed by Aiko in early March, revealing that the new version would be released on 21 March.[19][20] The revamped version features a lyrical change to comply with the contest's regulations prohibiting vulgar language.[21] As part of the promotion of her participation in the contest, Aiko attended the PrePartyES in Madrid on 30 March 2024,[22] the Barcelona Eurovision Party on 6 April 2024,[23] the London Eurovision Party on 7 April 2024,[24] the Eurovision in Concert event in Amsterdam on 13 April 2024,[25] the Nordic Eurovision Party in Stockholm on 14 April 2024[26] and the Copenhagen Eurovision Party (Malmöhagen) on 4 May 2024.[27]

At Eurovision

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Aiko during a rehearsal before the second semi-final.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 took place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progressd to the final. On 30 January 2024, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country would 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.[28] Czechia was scheduled for the first half of the second semi-final.[29] The shows' producers then decided the running order for the semi-finals; Czechia was set to perform in position 5.[30]

In Czechia, all the shows were aired on ČT2,[31] with commentary provided by Vašek Matějovský, Patricie Kaňok Fuxová and Dominika Hašková.[32] In addition, as part of the Eurovision programming, ČT cooperated with DR and SVT alongside other EBU member broadcasters – namely ARD/WDR, the BBC, ERR, France Télévisions, NRK, NTR, RÚV, VRT and Yle – to produce and air a documentary titled ABBA – Against the Odds, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Sweden's first victory at the contest with "Waterloo" by ABBA.[33]

Performance

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Aiko took part in technical rehearsals on 29 April and 2 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 8 and 9 May.[34] The staging of her performance of "Pedestal" at the contest was directed by Matyas Vorda (LED screen content and light design) and Vit Belohradsky (camera and stage, a position previously held for the Czech performances in 2022 and 2023),[35][36] while her costume, black with sparkles and mesh, was designed by Lukáš Macháček.[37][38] She was accompanied on stage by four Slovak female dancers, explained as representing the first four stages of grief during a breakup, i.e. denial, anger, bargaining and depression, with the singer representing the final stage, acceptance.[38] Slovak choreographer Miňo Kereš decided the dance routine for the performance.[39]

Semi-final

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Czechia performed in position 5, following the entry from Switzerland and before entry from Austria.[30] The country was not announced among the top 10 entries in the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Czechia placed eleventh out of the sixteen participating countries in the second semi-final with 38 points, 5 points away from qualification.

Voting

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See also: Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to and by Czechia in the second semi-final and in the final. Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting in the final vote, while the semi-final vote was based entirely on the vote of the public.[40] The Czech jury consisted of Ondřej Bambas, Bára Juránková, Kristyna Koreis, Marek Slabý, and Jaroslav Špulák.[41] In the second semi-final, Czechia placed 11th with 38 points. Over the course of the contest, Czechia awarded its 12 points to Israel in the second semi-final, and to Ukraine in both the jury and televote in the final.[42][43]

ČT appointed Radka Rosická [cs] as its spokesperson to announce the Czech jury's votes in the final.[44]

Points awarded to Czechia

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Points awarded to Czechia (Semi-final 2)[42]
Score Televote
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points   San Marino
5 points
4 points   Georgia
3 points
2 points
1 point

Points awarded by Czechia

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Detailed voting results

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Each participating broadcaster assembles a five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. Each jury, and individual jury member, is required to meet a strict set of criteria regarding professional background, as well as diversity in gender and age. No member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.[45] The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

The following members comprised the Czech jury:[41]

  • Ondřej Bambas
  • Bára Juránková
  • Kristyna Koreis
  • Marek Slabý
  • Jaroslav Špulák
Detailed voting results from Czechia (Semi-final 2)[42]
Draw Country Televote
Rank Points
01   Malta 13
02   Albania 15
03   Greece 7 4
04    Switzerland 3 8
05   Czechia
06   Austria 9 2
07   Denmark 12
08   Armenia 4 7
09   Latvia 6 5
10   San Marino 14
11   Georgia 10 1
05   Belgium 11
13   Estonia 5 6
14   Israel 1 12
15   Norway 8 3
16   Netherlands 2 10
Detailed voting results from Czechia (Final)[43]
Draw Country Jury Televote
Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Rank Points Rank Points
01   Sweden 1 3 4 4 6 3 8 8 3
02   Ukraine 4 1 1 3 2 1 12 1 12
03   Germany 6 6 7 17 4 6 5 17
04   Luxembourg 25 12 22 20 23 22 12
05   Netherlands ‡[a] 19 25 10 14 25 19 N/A
06   Israel 16 14 13 18 11 16 2 10
07   Lithuania 26 16 12 10 14 15 10 1
08   Spain 20 24 24 21 12 21 21
09   Estonia 14 7 16 12 8 12 14
10   Ireland 2 2 11 2 7 4 7 5 6
11   Latvia 12 15 17 13 9 14 15
12   Greece 13 13 6 6 18 11 9 2
13   United Kingdom 11 19 15 16 22 18 19
14   Norway 9 10 5 11 13 10 1 20
15   Italy 22 11 18 5 21 13 11
16   Serbia 18 18 19 22 16 23 16
17   Finland 21 20 20 19 24 25 13
18   Portugal 10 4 8 8 20 8 3 25
19   Armenia 5 5 3 7 15 5 6 6 5
20   Cyprus 8 23 21 24 19 17 23
21    Switzerland 3 9 2 1 3 2 10 4 7
22   Slovenia 17 22 25 26 17 24 22
23   Croatia 15 17 14 15 1 9 2 3 8
24   Georgia 23 21 23 23 10 20 24
25   France 7 8 9 9 5 7 4 7 4
26   Austria 24 26 26 25 26 26 18

Notes

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  1. ^ The Netherlands was disqualified prior to the final.[46][47]

References

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  1. ^ "Czechia". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c "ESC 2024 — Eurovision Song Contest" (in Czech and English). Czech Television. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b Granger, Anthony (13 November 2023). "Czechia: ESCZ 2024 Final on December 4". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Czechia finalists revealed ahead of ESCZ 2024". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  6. ^ Granger, Anthony (6 November 2023). "Czechia: ESCZ 2024 Song Submission Deadline Extended". Eurovoix. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b ČT [@escz_official] (13 November 2023). "As you know we are super excited to have you at Roxy on December 4th". Retrieved 13 November 2023 – via Instagram.
  8. ^ a b Koronakis, Spyros (22 November 2023). "Czechia: Cesár Sampson will be the co-host of ESCZ 2024!". Eurovisionfun. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  9. ^ Carabaña Menéndez, Hugo (14 November 2023). "ESCZ 2024: Chequia elegirá representante para Malmö el 4 de diciembre con público y Cesar Sampson se une al comité de elección" [ESCZ 2024: Czechia will choose its representative for Malmö on 4 December with an audience and Cesar Sampson joins the selection committee]. ESCplus España (in European Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  10. ^ Koronakis, Spyros (30 November 2023). "Τσεχία: Ακούστε τα τραγούδια του ESCZ 2024! (Aνανεώνεται)" [Czechia: Listen to the songs competing in ESCZ 2024! (Updating)]. Eurovisionfun (in Greek). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  11. ^ Carabaña Menéndez, Hugo (4 December 2023). "Desveladas las 7 canciones participantes en el ESCZ 2024, la final nacional checa: Escúchalas todas" [The 7 songs competing in ESCZ 2024, the Czech national final, have been revealed: Listen to them all]. ESCplus España (in European Spanish). Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  12. ^ ČT [@escz_official] (3 December 2023). "Welcome our Guest Acts for tomorrow!". Retrieved 3 December 2023 – via Instagram.
  13. ^ Koronakis, Spyros (4 December 2023). "Czechia: ESCZ 2024 took place tonight | Watch the performances and Vote!". Eurovisionfun. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  14. ^ Granger, Anthony (12 December 2023). "Czechia: Eurovision 2024 Representative to be Revealed on December 13". Eurovoix. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  15. ^ a b ČT [@escz_official] (13 December 2023). "Here are the full results". Retrieved 13 December 2023 – via Instagram.
  16. ^ "Aiko will represent Czechia at Eurovision 2024". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  17. ^ Bird, Lisa (13 December 2023). "Aiko wins ESCZ 2024 and will represent Czechia at Eurovision 2024". ESCXTRA. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  18. ^ Stephenson, James (23 January 2024). "Czechia: 'Pedestal' Could Be Revamped for Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  19. ^ Van Dijk, Sem Anne (7 March 2024). "Czechia: Revamp of 'Pedestal' to be Released Soon". Eurovoix. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  20. ^ Granger, Anthony (16 March 2024). "Czechia: Revamp of 'Pedestal' to be Released on March 21". Eurovoix. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  21. ^ Farren, Neil (21 March 2024). "Czechia: Aiko Releases Revamp of 'Pedestal'". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  22. ^ Rico, Vicente (5 March 2024). "La checa Aiko se viene a darlo todísimo a la PrePartyES 2024" [Czech Aiko comes to give it all at the PrePartyES 2024]. Eurovision-Spain.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  23. ^ @bcneurovision (20 March 2024). "Ahoj Aiko! La participante de Eurovision por Czechia 2024 se une a la Barcelona Eurovision Party de abril. Ya queda menos para ver su actuación en directo antes de viajar a Malmö para el Festival de Eurovision" [Ahoj Aiko! The Eurovision participant for Czechia 2024 joins the Barcelona Eurovision Party in April. There is less and less time left until we see her live performance before travelling to Malmö for the Eurovision Song Contest] (in European Spanish, English, and Catalan). Retrieved 23 March 2024 – via Instagram.
  24. ^ Melvan, Mario (8 March 2024). "Aiko is the next act to confirm for London Eurovision Party 2024". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  25. ^ @eurovisioninconcert (11 January 2024). "Czechia: Check! We're delighted to announce @aikomakesmusic will be with us in Amsterdam as well! We're looking forward to hearing 'Pedestal' live!". Retrieved 21 January 2024 – via Instagram.
  26. ^ Andersson, Rafaell (10 January 2024). "Czechia: Aiko Confirmed For Nordic Eurovision Party 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  27. ^ @malmohagen_eurovision_party (24 April 2024). "Our next live-on-stage 2024 act is @aikomakesmusic representing Czechia with her rock pop anthem, Pedestal! Look forward to hosting you and the Czech Delegation on Saturday May 4 at the Copenhagen Grand Final! #Aiko #Czechia #Copenhagen #Malmöhagen @escz_official". Retrieved 24 April 2024 – via Instagram.
  28. ^ Van Dijk, Sem Anne (13 December 2023). "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Allocation Draw on January 30". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  29. ^ "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  30. ^ a b "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Running Orders revealed!". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  31. ^ Grace, Emily (22 April 2024). "Czechia: ČT2 Remains the Home of Eurovision For 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  32. ^ Conte, Davide (27 April 2024). "Czechia: New Commentators for Eurovision 2024 Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  33. ^ "Record number of EBU Members unite for new ABBA documentary". ebu.ch. EBU. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  34. ^ "Eurovision 2024: Rehearsal Schedule". Eurovisionworld. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  35. ^ Granger, Anthony (28 February 2024). "Czechia: Creative Team Behind Aiko's Staging Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  36. ^ Chądzyński, Sebastian (15 March 2024). "Eurowizja 2024: znamy twórców występów. Kto wyreżyseruje występ Luny?" [Eurovision 2024: we know who will stage the shows. Who will direct Luna's performance?]. Eurowizja.org (in Polish). OGAE Poland. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  37. ^ Conte, Davide (27 April 2024). "Czechia: Lukáš Macháček Revealed as Costume Designer for Aiko". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  38. ^ a b Grace, Emily (29 April 2024). "Czechia: All The Details About Aiko's First Rehearsal". Eurovoix. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  39. ^ "Aiko - Eurovision Journey". YouTube. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  40. ^ "Voting Procedures 2024". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  41. ^ a b "Grand Final of Malmö 2024 – Jurors". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  42. ^ a b c d "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Malmö 2024 – Czechia". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  43. ^ a b c "Results of the Final of Malmö 2024 – Czechia". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  44. ^ Lombardini, Emanuele (11 May 2024). "Spokesperson Eurovision 2024: Italia in posizione 26, Alessandra Mele rinuncia" [Spokespersons Eurovision 2024: Italy in position 26, Alessandra Mele gives up]. Eurofestival News (in Italian). Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  45. ^ "How the Eurovision Song Contest works". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  46. ^ "Statement on Dutch participation in the Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  47. ^ "How do I vote for my favourite Eurovision song?". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
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