BOK-MCC chose its employee’s wife’s company. It was the only bidder

Bolesławiec Cultural Centre – International Ceramics Centre responded to our editorial team’s questions concerning the selection of Live. Magdalena Szwed to provide multimedia services for the 32nd Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival. The centre also provided documentation from the proceedings.

The documents show that the request for quotations was published on 8 July 2026 on swietoceramiki.pl and in the Public Information Bulletin of BOK-MCC. The deadline for submitting bids was 21 July at 12 p.m. The centre did not send individual invitations to specific businesses. It explains that its internal instructions allow proceedings to be conducted by publicly posting a request for quotations on its website.

Only one bid was submitted. It was submitted by Live. Magdalena Szwed.

The bid amounted to PLN 79,000 net, or PLN 97,170 gross. The committee selected it on 22 July. The minutes stated that the company met the technical and formal requirements, while previous cooperation with it was deemed to guarantee professional and flexible performance of the assignment.

Magdalena Szwed is the wife of Michał Szwed, who works at BOK-MCC. The documentation provided does not indicate that Michał Szwed took part in the committee selecting the contractor. The committee consisted of Michał Piaskowski, Ewa Chrobot and Wojciech Szczerba. The person designated to contact contractors was Michał Piaskowski, head of the technical department.

The contract was estimated at PLN 67,000 net

Before the proceedings began, BOK-MCC estimated the value of the contract at PLN 67,209 net, or PLN 82,667 gross. The calculations were based on bids from 2025. Three proposals were submitted at that time: PLN 50,820 net, PLN 45,430 net from Live. Magdalena Szwed, and PLN 54,670 net. The average was PLN 50,306 net.

BOK-MCC added 33.6 percent to this amount—3.6 percent due to rising prices and 30 percent because of the broader scope of services in 2026. The final bid from Live was therefore PLN 11,791 net higher than the estimated contract value.

The contract was signed on 12 August. Four days later, on 18 August, an annex was concluded in connection with a change to the Ceramic Festival programme. The scope of the service included, among other things, LED screens and multicamera production in three event zones: by the main stage on Asnyka Street, in the Market Square and by the Ceramics Museum.

The LED screen in the Market Square stopped working

After the event, we also asked BOK-MCC about the LED screen installed in the Market Square.

The centre confirmed that on 22 August, after Karol Okrasa’s cooking demonstration, the LED screen’s power supply system failed. According to the acceptance report, video and camera production during the demonstration had previously been carried out correctly. After heavy rainfall, however, the screen was switched off for safety reasons and was not restarted before the end of the day.

As a result, no graphic materials or sponsor advertisements were broadcast in that zone for the rest of the day. It was not conclusively established whether the cause of the failure was the power supply provided by the organiser or the contractor’s equipment. A detailed inspection was not carried out because the equipment had been flooded and there was a risk of electric shock.

BOK-MCC reduced the fee by PLN 5,000

Importantly, the contract itself stipulated that in the event of a power failure or adverse weather conditions preventing the equipment from operating properly, the contractor was to receive 100 percent of the fee. Despite this, BOK-MCC and the contractor agreed to reduce the fee by PLN 5,000 net.

This means that, from the original PLN 79,000 net, the amount remaining to be paid is PLN 74,000 net, or PLN 91,020 gross.

BOK-MCC stated that the acceptance report correctly assessed the work carried out in the zone by the main stage and by the Ceramics Museum. In the case of the Market Square, it recorded partial completion due to the failure.

Only one bid

One of the most important aspects of the entire proceedings is the fact that, despite the public announcement of the request, only one proposal was submitted.

BOK-MCC explains that it was not required to send requests directly to several companies because, under its internal instructions, publishing the request on its website was sufficient.

The instructions provide that, under the basic procedure, an invitation may be sent to at least three contractors or published on the website. At the same time, the document states that contracts are to be awarded in accordance with transparency, equal treatment of interested entities and the principles of fair competition.

BOK-MCC did not publish a separate decision on the outcome of the proceedings on its website. The centre explains that its internal rules did not require this. The result is usually sent by email to the companies participating in the proceedings. In this case, there was only one bidder.

BOK-MCC denies reports of calls after the event

Our editorial team also received reports that, after the Ceramic Festival ended, representatives of various companies had allegedly received calls asking them to submit offers for multimedia services.

We asked BOK-MCC about this. The centre categorically denied that, after the event, it had taken steps to obtain offers for a service that had already been performed. According to the institution, the entire contractor-selection procedure was formally completed before the contract was signed and work on the assignment began.

The documentation provided therefore shows that the request for quotations was publicly announced, but only one bid was submitted. It came from Magdalena Szwed’s company, whose owner is the wife of a BOK-MCC employee. The original contract value was PLN 79,000 net; however, following the partial failure of the LED screen, the fee was reduced to PLN 74,000 net.