The Czech Republic is scheduled to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy with the song "Lights Off" written by Einar Eriksen Kvaløy, Abi F Jones, Dominika Hasek, Casper Hatlestad and Benjamin Rekstad.
The song was performed by the band We Are Domi.
The Czech broadcaster  (ČT) organised the national final Eurovision Song CZ 2022 in order to select the Czech entry for the 2022 contest.
Seven entries competed in the national final and the winner, "Lights Off" performed by We Are Domi, was announced on 16 December 2021 following the combination of votes from a twelve-member international jury panel, an international public vote and a Czech public vote.
Background
Prior to the 2022 contest, Czech Republic has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nine times since its first entry in .
The nation competed in the contest on three consecutive occasions between 2007 and 2009 without qualifying to the final.
After Gipsy.cz performing the song "Aven Romale" placed 18th (last) in their semi-final failing to score any points in , the Czech broadcaster withdrew from the contest between 2010 and 2014 citing reasons such as low viewing figures and poor results for their absence.
Since returning to the contest in  and qualifying to the final for the first time in , Czech Republic has featured in three finals.
In , the country failed to qualify to the final with the song "Omaga" performed by Benny Cristo.
The Czech national broadcaster,  (ČT), broadcasts the event within Czech Republic and organises the selection process for the nation's entry.
The broadcaster has used both national finals and internal selections to select the Czech Eurovision entry in the past.
ČT confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in September 2021.
The broadcaster later confirmed in October 2021 that the Czech entry for the 2022 contest would be selected through a national final.
Before Eurovision
''Eurovision Song CZ 2022''
Eurovision Song CZ 2022 was the national final organised by ČT in order to select the Czech entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
Seven entries participated in the competition which took place online between 7 and 15 December 2021.
The winner was announced on 16 December 2021.
Competing entries
Artists and composers were able to submit their proposals to the broadcaster between 16 September 2021 and 30 September 2021.
Songwriters of any nationality were able to submit songs, however artists were required to have Czech citizenship and at least one of the lead vocalists of a duo or group were required to have Czech citizenship for groups of a maximum of six.
The broadcaster received over 150 submissions at the closing of the deadline.
ČT selected seven entries from the submissions received and the selected finalists were presented to the public during a press conference held on 6 December 2021 at the ČT Headquarters in Prague.
Final
Seven entries competed and the winner, "Lights Off" performed by We Are Domi, was determined by the combination of votes from a twelve-member international jury panel (50%), an international public vote (25%) and a Czech public vote (25%).
Both international and Czech users were able to vote via the official Eurovision Song Contest app between 7 and 15 December 2021, and the winner was announced on 16 December 2021.
The international jury panel consisted of:
Victor Crone – represented  in 2019
Tix – represented  in 2021
Maraaya – represented  in 2015
The Black Mamba – represented  in 2021
Manizha – represented  in 2021
Blind Channel – represented  in 2021
Go_A – represented  in 2021
Daði Freyr – represented  in 2021
Gjon's Tears – represented  in 2021
Jay Aston – represented the  in 1981 as a part of Bucks Fizz
Paul Harrington - represented  in 1994 with Charlie McGettigan
Charlie McGettigan - represented  in 1994 with Paul Harrington
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.
References
