The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is an annual contest organized between member countries of the European Broadcasting Union for children aged between 9 and 14 (8 and 15 between 2003 and 2006, 10 and 15 between 2007 and 2015). This junior contest has been broadcast every year since its debut in 2003, and is based on the Eurovision Song Contest, one of the longest-running television programmes in the world since its debut in 1956. The contest's winner has been determined using numerous voting techniques throughout its history; centre to these have been points awarded through jury voting or public voting. The country awarded the most points is declared the winner.
As of 2023 [update] , twenty-one contests have been held, with one winner each year. Twelve different countries have won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Six have won the contest once: Croatia, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, and the Netherlands. Five have won the contest twice: Armenia, Belarus, Malta, Poland (first country to win back to back), and Russia. The countries with the highest number of wins is Georgia and France, both with three wins. Both Croatia and Italy achieved their wins on their debut participation in the contest. Macedonia is the country with the longest history in the contest without a win, having made seventeen appearances since their debut in 2003.
Winning the Junior Eurovision Song Contest provides an opportunity for the winning artist(s) to capitalise on their success and surrounding publicity by launching or furthering their career. Some artists from Junior Eurovision have progressed later in their careers to participate in national finals for the Eurovision Song Contest or the main event proper, including Molly Sandén, Nevena Božović, the Tolmachevy Sisters, Lisa, Amy and Shelley, Stefania Liberakakis, Destiny Chukunyere, and Iru Khechanovi. [1]
Unlike in the Eurovision Song Contest, until 2012, it was not tradition that the previous winning country hosts the next edition of the contest. This tradition has been applied though since 2013, with only the 2015 and 2018 editions being held in a different country than the previous winner.
† | Inactive –countries which participated in the past but did not appear in the most recent contest, or will not appear in the upcoming contest |
◇ | Ineligible –countries whose broadcasters are no longer part of the EBU and are therefore ineligible to participate |
Wins | Country | Years |
---|---|---|
3 | Georgia | |
France | ||
2 | ||
Belarus | ||
Malta | ||
Russia | ||
Poland | ||
Armenia | ||
1 | ||
Croatia | 2003 | |
Spain | 2004 | |
Netherlands | 2009 | |
Ukraine | 2012 | |
Italy | 2014 |
The following individuals have won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest as a performer or songwriter more than once.
Wins | Name | Wins as performer | Wins as songwriter |
---|---|---|---|
2 | Giga Kukhianidze | — | |
Małgorzata Uściłowska | — | ||
Barbara Pravi | — | ||
Since the contest began in 2003, all nations competing must sing in the national language (or national languages) of the country being represented, with at least 60% of the song having to be in a national language of the country.
The Eurovision Song Contest, often known simply as Eurovision or by its initialism ESC, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed live and transmitted to national broadcasters via the Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries' songs to determine a winner.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the fourth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest for young singers aged 8 to 15. On 2 December 2006, the contest was broadcast live from Bucharest, Romania making it the second time the contest had been held in a capital city. It was organised by the Romanian national broadcaster, Romanian Television (TVR), in co-operation with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The Netherlands has participated in every edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest since its inception in 2003. The country has won the competition on one occasion; in 2009, with the song "Click Clack" by Ralf Mackenbach. Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS has been responsible for the participation, selecting the nation's entrant through the national final Junior Songfestival. The Netherlands is the only country to have taken part in every edition of the contest.
The Eurovision Song Contest was first held in 1956, originally conceived as an experiment in transnational television broadcasting. Following a series of exchange broadcasts in 1954, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) commissioned an international song competition, from an idea developed by Sergio Pugliese and Marcel Bezençon and originally based on the Italian Sanremo Music Festival.
The Organisation Générale des Amateurs de l'Eurovision, shortened to OGAE, is a non-governmental and non-profit international organisation, consisting of 42 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs from across Europe and beyond. It was founded in 1984 in Savonlinna, Finland by Jaripekka Koikkalainen.
Armenia has participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest since 2007. Armenian Public Television (ARMTV), a member organisation of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), have been responsible for the selection process of their participants since their debut.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the eighth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest and took place in Minsk, Belarus. It was held on 20 November 2010. The contest was won by Vladimir Arzumanyan from Armenia with the song "Mama." This gave Armenia its first Junior Eurovision victory and its first victory in any Eurovision contest.
The OGAE Second Chance Contest is a visual event which was founded in 1987 and is organised by branches of OGAE, the international fan club of the Eurovision Song Contest. Four nations competed in the first contest which took place in 1987. The competition was previously a non-televised event, but evolved over the years by the usage of video tape and later DVD, YouTube and streaming services.
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Tomorrow" written by Boris Cezek and Dean Muscat. The song was performed by Gianluca. The Maltese entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden was selected through the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2013, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a semi-final round and a final, held on 1 and 2 February 2013, respectively, where "Tomorrow" performed by Gianluca eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a seven-member jury and a public televote.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 12th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and took place, for the first time, in Malta. This was the third time that the contest was hosted by the previous year's winning country. Maltese national broadcaster PBS was the host broadcaster for the event. The final took place on 15 November 2014 and was in the Malta Shipbuilding in Marsa, near Valletta. Moira Delia, a Maltese television personality, hosted the show, marking the first time in Junior Eurovision history that there was only one presenter of the show.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the thirteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and took place, for the first time, in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian national broadcaster BNT was the host broadcaster for the event. The final took place on 21 November 2015 and was held at the Arena Armeec in Sofia. Poli Genova, a Bulgarian singer and former representative of Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, hosted the show. A total of seventeen countries participated, with Australia and Ireland making their debuts. Albania and Macedonia returned after being absent since the 2012 and 2013 contests, respectively. Croatia and Cyprus withdrew after returning in the 2014 edition, while Sweden withdrew for the first time since 2008.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the fourteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, Malta. This was the second time that Malta have hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, their first being in 2014. Jon Ola Sand was appointed as the Executive Supervisor for the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, following the dismissal of the former supervisor, Vladislav Yakovlev.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the fifteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It took place on 26 November 2017 at the Olympic Palace, in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. This was the fifth time that the contest was hosted by the previous year's winning country. The visual design and contest slogan, "Shine Bright", were revealed in May 2017.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the sixteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It took place in the Belarusian capital city, Minsk on 25 November 2018 at the Minsk-Arena. It was the second time that the contest was held in Belarus, after it staged the 2010 edition at the same venue.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the seventeenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by Telewizja Polska (TVP) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was held on 24 November 2019, at the Gliwice Arena in Gliwice, Poland, following the country's victory at the 2018 contest in Minsk, Belarus, with the song "Anyone I Want to Be", performed by Roksana Węgiel. It was the first time Poland had hosted the contest, as well as the first Eurovision event to be held in the country since the Eurovision Young Dancers 2013.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 20th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV). The contest took place on 11 December 2022 at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, following the country's victory at the 2021 contest with the song "Qami Qami" by Maléna. This was the second time that Armenia hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the first being in 2011.