The history of the Madrid sztab
From a pandemic-time collection to a carnival on two stages. The amount raised has grown every single year.
The Madrid sztab has been organising the WOŚP final in Spain for years. These are the official figures confirmed by the Foundation.
The figures
| Final | Year | Raised |
|---|---|---|
| 29th | 2021 | 57,925.45 PLN |
| 30th | 2022 | 74,112.32 PLN |
| 31st | 2023 | 85,648.18 PLN |
| 32nd | 2024 | 102,754.52 PLN |
| 33rd | 2025 | ~120,000 PLN |
| 34th | 2026 | to be confirmed |
The 29th Final took place in the middle of the pandemic, in January 2021, and still beat the record of the time. Since then the figure has risen every year without exception.
Not only Madrid
Although the team is called the Madrid sztab, the collection happens across Spain. During the 33rd Final volunteers were in twelve cities: Madrid, Alicante, Alcalá de Henares, Granada, Murcia, Palos de la Frontera, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Seville, Tenerife, Valdemoro and Valencia.
Centro Cultural Galileo
Since the 32nd Final the event has taken place in the patio of the Centro Cultural Municipal Galileo in the Chamberí district. The 33rd Final took the form of a Polish Charity Carnival, and the 34th, held on 25 January 2026, was called Corazones solidarios and raised money for children with digestive tract diseases.
Jurek Owsiak’s visit
In June 2024 the Foundation came to Madrid with Jurek Owsiak, its founder. We showed him the Plaza Mayor and Atocha, ate tapas at the Mercado de Vallehermoso — where Ania has the Los Pierogi stall — and took him to the patio of Centro Cultural Galileo, where our finales are held. The next day we went to the Reina Sofía to see Guernica.
Who makes it happen
Behind every final there are dozens of people: volunteers, Polish associations and schools in Spain, artists performing for free, restaurants bringing the food, and institutions providing the space and equipment.
The full list for each edition is in our archive of finals.