The Eurovision Young Musicians (French: L'Eurovision des Jeunes Musiciens), often shortened to EYM, or Young Musicians, is a biennial classical music competition for European musicians that are aged between 12 and 21. It is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and broadcast on television throughout Europe, with some countries holding national selections to choose their representatives for the contest.
The first edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians took place in Manchester, United Kingdom on 11 May 1982 and 6 countries took part. The contest was won by Markus Pawlik from West Germany, who played the piano. Austria is the most successful country in the Young Musicians contest, having won five times 1988, 1998, 2002, 2004, and 2014 respectively and has hosted the contest a record six times.
List of contests[]
| Year | Finals date | Venue | Host broadcaster | Winning country | Winning performer and instrument | Piece performed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | May 11 | Free Trade Hall, Manchester, United Kingdom | BBC | Germany | Markus Pawlik (piano) | Piano Concerto No.1 by Felix Mendelssohn |
| 1984 | May 22 | Victoria Hall, Geneva, Switzerland | SRG SSR | Netherlands | Isabelle van Keulen (violin) | Violin concert no. 5 op. 37 by Henri Vieuxtemps |
| 1986 | May 27 | Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, Denmark | DR | France | Sandrine Lazarides (piano) | Piano Concerto E flat by Franz Liszt |
| 1988 | May 31 | Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands | NOS | Austria | Julian Rachlin (violin) | Concerto for violin and orchestra in d, op.22 by Henryk Wieniawski |
| 1990 | May 29 | Musikverein, Vienna, Austria | ORF | Netherlands | Niek van Oosterum (piano) | Concert for Piano and Orchestra a-minor op. 16, 1 Mov. by Edvard Grieg |
| 1992 | June 9 | Cirque Royal, Brussels, Belgium | RTBF | Poland | Bartłomiej Nizioł (violin) | Concerto for violin and orchestra in d major op. 77 by Johannes Brahms |
| 1994 | June 14 | Philharmonic Concert Hall, Warsaw, Poland | TVP | United Kingdom | Natalie Clein (cello) | Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 85, part I by Edward Elgar |
| 1996 | June 12 | Belém Cultural Center, Lisbon, Portugal | RTP | Germany | Julia Fischer (violin) | Havanaise in E major, op. 83 by Camille Saint-Saëns |
| 1998 | June 4 | Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria | ORF | Austria | Lidia Baich (violin) | Violin Concerto no. 5, 1st Mov. by Henri Vieuxtemps |
| 2000 | June 15 | Grieghallen, Bergen, Norway | NRK | Poland | Stanisław Drzewiecki (piano) | Piano Concerto in E minor, op. 11, 3rd movement by Frederic Chopin |
| 2002 | June 19 | Konzerthaus, Berlin, Germany | ZDF | Austria | Dalibor Karvay (violin) | Carmen Fantasy by Franz Waxman |
| 2004 | May 27 | Culture and Congress Centre, Lucerne, Switzerland | SRG SSR | Alexandra Soumm (violin) | Violin Concerto No.1 (1st Movement) by Niccolò Paganini | |
| 2006 | May 12 | Rathausplatz, Vienna, Austria | ORF | Sweden | Andreas Brantelid (cello) | Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra, 1st movement by Joseph Haydn |
| 2008 | May 9 | Greece | Dionysis Grammenos (clarinet) | Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, 4th movement by Jean Françaix | ||
| 2010 | May 14 | Slovenia | Eva Nina Kozmus (flute) | Concerto for flute, III. mov. Allegro scherzando by Jacques Ibert | ||
| 2012 | May 11 | Norway | Eivind Ringstad (viola) | Viola concerto, 2 & 3 mov. by Béla Bartók | ||
| 2014 | May 31 | Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany | WDR | Austria | Ziyu He (violin) | 2. Violinkonzert by Béla Bartók |
| 2016 | September 3 | Poland | Łukasz Dyczko (saxophone) | Rhapsody pour Saxophone alto by André Waignein | ||
| 2018 | August 23 | Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom | BBC | Russia | Ivan Bessonov (piano) | 3rd mvt from Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
| Contest cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 2022 | July 23 | The Corum, Montpellier, France | Radio France France Télévisions |
Czech Republic | Daniel Matejča (violin) | 3rd and 4th mvt Violin Concerto No. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich |
| 2024 | August 17 | Stormen Concert Hall, Bodø, Norway | NRK | Austria | Leonhard Baumgartner (violin) | Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor, 1st movement by Henri Vieuxtemps |
| 2026 | TBA | Yerevan, Armenia | ARMTV | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Countries[]
Active participants[]
| Country | Debut year | Best result | Broadcaster(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armenia | 2012 | 3rd (2012) | ARMTV |
| Austria | 1982 | 1st (1988, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2014) | ORF |
| Belgium | 1986 | 3rd (1990, 1992) | Dutch: VRT French: RTBF |
| Czechia | 2002 | 1st (2022) | ČT |
| France | 1982 | 1st (1986) | Current: Radio France, France Télévisions Former: TF1, France 3 |
| Germany | 1982 | 1st (1982, 1996) | Current: WDR (ARD) Former: ZDF |
| Norway | 1982 | 1st (2012) | NRK |
| Poland | 1992 | 1st (1992, 2000, 2016) | TVP |
| Serbia | 2008 | Failed to qualify | RTS |
| Sweden | 1986 | 1st (2006) | SVT |
| Switzerland | 1982 | 2nd (1986) | SRG SSR |
Inactive participants[]
| Country | Debut year | Latest entry | Best result | Broadcaster(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 2018 | Failed to qualify | RTSH | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2012 | Failed to qualify | BHRT | |
| Bulgaria | 2006 | Failed to qualify | BNT | |
| Croatia | 1994 | 2022 | 2nd (1998) | HRT |
| Cyprus | 1988 | 2010 | Failed to qualify | CyBC |
| Denmark | 1986 | 2002 | Qualified (1992, 1994) | DR |
| Estonia | 1994 | 2018 | 3rd (1996) | ERR |
| Finland | 1984 | 2008 | 2nd (1984, 2000, 2008) | Yle |
| Georgia | 2012 | Failed to qualify | GPB | |
| Greece | 1990 | 2018 | 1st (2008) | ERT |
| Hungary | 1992 | 2018 | 3rd (2014) | MTVA |
| Ireland | 1986 | 2000 | Failed to qualify | RTÉ |
| Israel | 1986 | 2018 | Failed to qualify | IBA (1986) IPBC (Kan) (2018) |
| Italy | 1986 | 2002 | 3rd (1988) | RAI |
| Latvia | 1994 | 2002 | 2nd (1994) | LTV |
| Lithuania | 1994 | Failed to qualify | LRT | |
| Macedonia | 1994 | Failed to qualify | MRT | |
| Malta | 2014 | 2018 | Qualified (2014, 2016) | PBS |
| Moldova | 2014 | Qualified (2014) | TRM | |
| Netherlands | 1984 | 2014 | 1st (1984, 1990) | NOS (1984–1990, 2000–2004) NPS (2006–2010) NTR (2012–2014) |
| Portugal | 1990 | 2014 | Qualified (2014) | RTP |
| Romania | 2002 | 2010 | Qualified (2006) | TVR |
| San Marino | 2016 | 2018 | Qualified (2016) | SMRTV |
| Slovakia | 1998 | 2000 | Qualified (1998) | STV |
| Slovenia | 1994 | 2018 | 1st (2010) | RTVSLO |
| Spain | 1988 | 2018 | 2nd (1992) | TVE |
| Ukraine | 2008 | 2012 | Failed to qualify | NTU |
| United Kingdom | 1982 | 2018 | 1st (1994) | BBC |
Ineligible countries[]
| Country | Debut year | Latest entry | Best result | Broadcaster | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belarus | 2010 | 2012 | Qualified (2010, 2012) | BTRC | The Belarusian broadcaster was expelled from the EBU on 1 July 2021 for a period of three years, citing accusations of repressing its own employees during the 2020-21 Belarusian protests and calls by protesters to remove the country from the contest. |
| Russia | 1994 | 2018 | 1st (2018) | VGTRK | The broadcaster announced its withdrawal from the EBU on 26 February 2022 in protest to their country's exclusion in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. |
Former countries[]
| Country | Debut year | Latest entry | Best result | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia and Montenegro | 2006 | Failed to qualify | UJRT | |
| Yugoslavia | 1986 | 1992 | Qualified (1986) | JRT |
Non-participant broadcasters[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Unknown | 2004 |
| Canada | 2004 | |
| Iceland | Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) | 2002, 2008-2012 |
| Turkey | Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) | 2000 |
Presenters, conductors and orchestra[]
| Year | Presenter(s) | Conductor | Orchestra |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Humphrey Burton | Bryden Thomson | BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra |
| 1984 | Georges Kleinmann | Horst Stein | Orchestre de la Suisse Romande |
| 1986 | Anette Faaborg | Hans Graf | Danish National Symphony Orchestra |
| 1988 | Martine Bijl | Sergiu Comissiona | Radio Filharmonisch Orkest |
| 1990 | Gerhard Tötschinger | Pinchas Steinberg | Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra |
| 1992 | Marie-Françoise Renson | Ronald Zollman | National Orchestra of Belgium |
| 1994 | Unknown | Kazimierz Kord | Warsaw National Symphony Orchestra |
| 1996 | Luis Izquierdo | Portuguese Symphony Orchestra | |
| 1998 | Julian Rachlin | Dennis Russell Davies | Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra |
| 2000 | Arild Erikstad | Simone Young | Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra |
| 2002 | Julia Fischer | Marek Janowski | Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin |
| 2004 | Christian Arming | Christian Arming | Lucerne Symphony Orchestra |
| 2006 | Schallbert Gilet | Vienna Symphony | |
| 2008 | Lidia Baich and Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz | Aleksandar Markovic | |
| 2010 | Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz | Cornelius Meister | |
| 2012 | Pia Strauss (semi-finals) Martin Grubinger (finals) | ||
| 2014 | Sabine Heinrich | Kristiina Poska | WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne |
| 2016 | Tamina Kallert and Daniel Hope | Clemens Schuldt | |
| 2018 | Petroc Trelawny (all shows) Josie d'Arby (finals) |
Thomas Dausgaard | BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra |
| 2022 | Judith Chaine and Vincent Delbushaye | Pierre Dumoussaud | Opéra Orchestre national Montpellier |
| 2024 | Silje Nordnes and Mona Berntsen | Eivind Aadland | Norwegian Radio Orchestra |