Well, with the kind of pronunciation you usually hear from Western singers in Slavic operas (Janacek, Tchaikovsky) I don't think they'd have the slightest chance of winning.
And Mike, the fact that you've never heard of the Competition does not make it a minor one. In fact, this is one of the most prestigious vocal competitions in this part of Europe, even if the prizes aren't enormous (Grand Prix - $ 12,000, First Prize - $ 8,000, Second Prize - $ 6,000, Third Prize - $ 4,000). Also, contrary to what you obviously believe, Moniuszko is NOT an obscure composer in this part of Europe. He's obscure in the West but then the West is generally ignorant of most of the things happening in these parts - be it Russian concentration camps or Polish opera composers...
FYI, here's a list of the countries:
The 6th International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition attracted 253 candidates representing 26 countries:
POLAND - 107
RUSSIA - 55
UKRAINE - 36
UNITED STATES - 6
KOREA - 6
BELARUS - 5
LITHUANIA - 4
KAZAKHSTAN - 4
GERMANY - 3
BULGARIA - 3
MOLDOVA - 3
GEORGIA - 3
ISRAEL - 2
CZECH REPUBLIC - 2
VIETNAM - 2
AZERBAIJAN - 1
ARMENIA - 1
SLOVAKIA - 1
ROMANIA - 1
SERBIA - 2
UNITED KINGDOM - 1
NETHERLANDS - 1
FINLAND - 1 JAPAN - 1
AUSTRALIA - 1
LATVIA - 1
A total of 117 candidates from 19 countries qualified for the competition, including:
POLAND - 65
RUSSIA - 18
UKRAINE - 10
UNITED STATES - 4
KOREA - 3
BELARUS - 1
KAZAKHSTAN - 3
GERMANY - 1
MOLDOVA - 1
GEORGIA - 1
ISRAEL - 2
AZERBAIJAN - 1
SLOVAKIA - 1
SERBIA - 1
UNITED KINGDOM - 1
NETHERLANDS - 1
FINLAND - 1
AUSTRALIA - 1
LATVIA - 1
NOTE: by 19 March 2007, 4 candidates (Poland) had officially withdrawn from the competition due to professional commitments, and 1 candidate (Russia) for other reasons. As of 19 March 2007, the number of participants was 112. Finally 88.
Yes, Poland is in the majority but isn't that the case with the hosting country of any competition?
The only Brit didn't even get past the first stage I'm afraid. Re your question about Finland: I understand the only contestant from that country (tenor Mika NISULA) had a really ghastly pronunciation. He wasn't felled until the 3rd stage nontheless...