Daniel Zizka has spoken to iDNES about his Eurovision 2026 experience to date and looks ahead to the competition in Vienna, Austria.
In an interview with Czech media, Daniel Zizka has revealed more details of how he came to represent Czechia at Eurovision 2026, and his hopes for the competition in Austria in May. He explained that “Crossroads” took about 18 months to write, adding:
“It had several forms before I found its final shape. I mainly finished the lyrics during the summer I spent in Japan. I like to travel alone because it forces me to step out of my comfort zone, and this time the change of environment brought me a lot of inspiration”
Once the song was complete, Daniel submitted the song to the Czech broadcaster. As part of the selection process, Daniel recorded a live performance at the ČT studios, which was then sent to two groups. One group formed of international music industry professionals and the other, listeners in three countries, the votes of these groups then determined Daniel as the winner.
Looking ahead to the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Daniel revealed the intentions for his performance:
“My goal for the Eurovision stage is to support the song while giving it as much space as possible to speak to the audience. I can’t reveal much about the specific form of the performance, but we will go the route of a more intimate visual message.”
The song that Daniel Zizka will perform in Vienna has been written and composed by Viliam Béreš and by Daniel himself. He will perform in the first half of the second semi-final on May 14.
Source: iDNES
Czechia first competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007. They achieved their best result at the contest with Mikolas Josef coming 6th in Lisbon 2018 with the song “Lie to Me”. Gabriela Gunčíková took Czechia to their first final in 2016. This came after a three year run of non-qualifications between 2007 and 2009, and missing out on a place in the final on their return in 2015. Until 2023, the nation took part under the name Czech Republic.