Eurovision 2026: Meet Czechia's Daniel Zizka and his song Crossroads

We profile the 2026 entry from Czechia including details on the artist, song, how it was chosen, odds, fan reaction and how the nation has fared at Eurovision.

After making its Eurovision debut in 2007, Czechia initially struggled to make an impact at the contest, withdrawing just two years later following a disappointing result in 2009.

However, the nation made a triumphant return in 2015 and has since grown into something of an underdog favourite among Eurovision fans.

While Czechia has yet to secure a win, they’ve managed to land two impressive top 10 finishes since their comeback: Mikolas Josef’s infectious Lie to Me in 2018 (6th place), and Vesna’s empowering My Sister’s Crown in 2023 (10th place).

Despite these successes, Czechia’s journey hasn’t always been smooth - the country has only qualified for the Grand Final in 5 out of the last 9 editions, and have missed out for the last two years running.

Now, hopes are high once again as Czechia looks to secure another spot in the final at Eurovision 2025 in Basel. Representing the nation this year is Daniel Zizka with his song Crossroads.

You can find out more about Daniel and his song below!

2026 entry: Daniel Zizka - Crossroads

• Daniel will perform in the first half of semi-final 2 on 14 May 2026

• My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 16th

• Odds to win ranking: 12th

(Rankings as of 26 April 2026)

About the artist

Commencing his musical journey in musical theatre, Daniel quickly found his passion in writing and performing his own original music and pushed to create a career for himself. He started releasing singles under the stage name "Daniell" in 2019 and 2020, seeing some domestic success on Czech radio.

In 2023, Daniel began releasing music under his own name with the duet Pierrot, a duet with former Czech Eurovision national final contestant Barbara Mochowa. He has concentrated primarily on releasing music with an indie, melancholy feel to date, making use of his technical capacity as a vocalist to convey strong emotion in all of his songs.

An up-and-coming artist in the Czech music scene, Daniel has been described by music magazine Headliner as a potential future star in the making.

About the song

Crossroads is a dramatic contemporary ballad with elements of past Eurovision heavy-hitters such as Duncan Laurence (Netherlands 2019) and Gjon's Tears (Switzerland 2020, Switzerland 2021).

The song's poetic lyrics convey the feelings of anxiety and confusion which coming from growing up and striking out on one's own. "Mother, I'll get lost without a map / There's too many ways / Inside this vicious spider web" sings Daniel, with the titular Crossroads being a symbol both of the choices individuals make as well as perhaps an indication of the troubled times the world finds itself in currently.

The song was written by Daniel himself in collaboration with Villiam Beres, who was previously responsible for Barbara Mochowa's second effort in the Czech national final, White and Black Holes.

How was Daniel chosen for Eurovision?

After experimenting with different national final formats between 2018 and 2024, Czechia returned to an internal selection in 2025 and continued this trend with their selection for the 2026 contest in Vienna. While songwriters of all nationalities were eligible to submit songs for consideration, the selected performer was required to be a Czech resident or national.

From around 260 songs initially submitted, eight were shortlisted to progress to a live audition round at the broadcaster's studios in Prague. A combination of an international jury and a demoscopic jury were then used to select the successful song.

Of Daniel's live audition, Czech head of delegation Kryštof Šámal commented:

"The performance was disarming – technically precise, yet full of emotion. It was clear we were watching an artist who knows exactly who he wants to be."

Czechia will compete in semi-final 2 of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest on 14 May 2025 in Vienna.

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