OGAE Polska have decided to take TVP to court over the results of Tu bije serce Europy 2023 which divided much of the Polish fanbase, earlier this year, with the hope of a transparent set of results being handed over through the courts.
Almost two months after the Grand Final of Eurovision Song Contest 2023 and over four months since Tu Bije Serce Europy! Wybieramy Hity Na Eurowizję 2023 took place, the conflict between fan-based Polish Eurovision media and the participating broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) over transparency of the selection process still rages on.
On July 17th, OGAE Polska decided to bring the matter before Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw, after TVP declined their formal demand to publish the full results of the 2023 National Selection. The Polish subsidiary of Association of Enthusiasts of the Eurovision Song Contest announced and explained their action through their website Eurowizja.org.
OGAE Poland has given the following statement regarding the situation:
Due to the decision received in June concerning the refusal of access to public information and the disclosure of the detailed results of the pre-selection “Tu Bije Serce Europy! Wybieramy Hity Na Eurowizję”, on July 17 we filed a complaint against TVP’s decision to the Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw.
We don’t agree with the position of the public broadcaster who cited the protection of trade secret as the reason for the refusal. It is our belief that there is no basis for such a move. That’s why, concerned over the selection of next year’s Polish representative for Eurovision, we decided to continue efforts for the transparency of the selection results.
Association of Enthusiasts of the Eurovision Song Contest OGAE Polska
According to OGAE Polska, the public and the media can demand from TVP the publication of full results under the right of access to public information, legally provided to every Polish citizen. They sent TVP the formal demand, only to receive a refusal in June. The task of Regional Administrative Court is settling the conflicts caused by contradictory legal decisions; if they agree with OGAE Polska that TVP’s decision to keep the results secret is unfound, they can overturn it and force the broadcaster to publish them.
The full content of the filed complaint has not as of now been made public, and neither TVP nor Regional Administrative Court have publicly addressed the matter.
While Polish fan circles expressed concerns with transparency of results in past National Selections, such as Szansa Na Sukces 2020 and Tu Bije Serce Europy 2022, it was the public outrage and controversy surrounding the 2023 selection that motivated them to take decisive action, in hope that the public opinion will support their efforts and put pressure on TVP. An open letter to TVP’s president Mateusz Matyszkowicz (source in Polish), signed by all major Polish Eurovision media, was published on March 2nd, only to be ignored by TVP. TVP employees responsible for organizing the event and Polish Eurovision delegation have also remained silent; according to Dziennik Eurowizyjny, some of them may have been pressured to do so by TVP.
The concerns raised by fan media include the change of selection rules four days before the event and then breaking said rules by announcing combined voting results instead of public voting points during the show, which left many viewers and even some journalists confused. The fans would also like to see the actual numbers of votes cast by the audience for each of the participants (allegedly the televote winner Jann gathered three times more of them than the overall winner, Blanka. Dziennik Eurowizyjny received this information unofficially from TVP employee dissatisfied with the result, but the first one to publicize them was a tabloid pudelek.pl. Dziennik Eurowizyjny further claims that the leak was later investigated by TVP) and the detailed jury results. One of the jurors, journalist Marek Sierocki, has recently confirmed that they’re obliged to keep their individual rankings secret. It is unknown how the votes were counted (head of jury, Edyta Górniak, confirmed that she was dictated the determined jury points through an earphone by the staff member), verified and whether the procedure has been documented, though TVP had claimed that an independent notary was involved. Finally, the media share the wider public concerns regarding the impartiality of the jury, especially the dancer and choreographer Agustin Egurrola, who worked in the past with several contestants.
The doubts listed by Eurowizja.org, and likely reiterated in the court complaint, do not hovewer include multiple conspiracy theories and unverified or straight up false claims that arose after the National Selection, such as accusations of fraud, corruption, plagiarism, fixing and nepotism. The site’s editors have also specified that their goal is and was publication of full voting results in order to ensure their transparency, not the replacement of Polish representative or any wish to cause her harm. The aforementioned open letter had also included plead to fan community to control emotions and remain cultural.
The complaint is said to feature examples of transparency procedures in other participating countries. The fan circles would like TVP to uphold similar standards.
As of the writing of this article, TVP has not confirmed participation in Eurovision Song Contest 2024, however several of its employees implied that it is considered.
