Alicja Szemplińska performs Pray in Eurovision 2026 semifinal
alicja szemplińska took the stage for Poland in the first semifinal of Eurovision 2026 at 22:23 with “Pray.” The 24-year-old moved the country into the live voting phase after a performance built around a raised platform, with Poland still needing a Top 10 finish in the jury and viewers’ vote to reach the final.
Poland’s 22:23 turn
At 22:15, Lithuania’s Lion Ceccah had already opened this stretch of the running order with “Sólo quiero más,” putting Szemplińska’s slot eight minutes later under the usual semifinal pressure of sequencing and momentum. She followed Lithuania and went before San Marino, giving Poland a middle-of-the-pack position in a field where every placement in the order can shape how fresh an entry feels by the time votes open.
Szemplińska performed with four dancers beside her: Oskar Borkowski, Włodzimierz Kołobycz, Krystian Rzymkiewicz and Stefano Silvino. The staging used a platform for both the singer and the dancers, a cleaner visual choice than a crowded floor routine and one that kept the performance centered on movement rather than props.
Top 10 needed for Poland
Poland was not framed as a favorite in the live report, and that is the complication for anyone tracking the country’s path through the semifinal. The entry needed a Top 10 result in the combined jury and viewers’ vote to advance, so the performance was not just a showcase for “Pray” but a direct test of whether Poland could stay in range against stronger market expectations.
That backdrop matters because the report also pointed to a rock performance from another act as the one bookmakers thought was most likely to reach the final. Poland therefore entered the same voting window facing a more crowded contest for those ten qualifying places, not a clean lane to the next round.
At 22:27, Szemplińska addressed the room with a short, useful line after the song: “Thank you, Europe! Dziękuję!” Voting began five minutes later, at 22:32, so the audience had already seen the staging, the dancers, and the finish before the contest shifted from performance to arithmetic.
Eurovision 2026 voting window
At 22:32, the first semifinal moved into voting, which is where Poland’s night turned from presentation to result. For viewers following the contest from home, the relevant question is simple: Poland now lives or dies by whether “Pray” can land inside the Top 10 of the jury and viewers’ vote, because that is the line that separates a semifinal appearance from a place in the final.
