The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is a song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003 and is open exclusively to broadcasters that are members of the EBU. It is held in a different European city each year, however the same city can host the contest more than once.
The competition has many similarities to the Eurovision Song Contest from which its name is taken. Each participating broadcaster sends an act, the members of which are aged 9 to 14 on the day of the contest, and an original song lasting between 2 minutes 45 seconds and 3 minutes to compete against the other entries. Each entry represents the country served by the participating broadcaster. Viewers from the participating countries are invited to vote for their favourite performances by televote and a national jury from each participating country also vote. The overall winner of the contest is the entry that has received the most points after the scores from every country have been collected and totalled.
In addition to the countries taking part, the 2003 contest was also broadcast in Estonia, Finland and Germany (who would not debut until the 2020 contest), followed by Andorra in 2006 and Bosnia and Herzegovina (from 2006 to 2011), however these countries have yet to participate. Since 2006, the contest has been streamed live on the Internet through the official website of the contest. Australia was invited in the 2015 contest, while Kazakhstan was invited in the 2018 contest, making it the only major Eurovision event to feature multiple associate member broadcasters.
List of contests[]
| Year | Finals date | Venue | Host broadcaster | Winning country | Winning song and artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | November 15 | Forum Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark | DR | Croatia | "Ti si moja prva ljubav" by Dino Jelusić |
| 2004 | November 20 | Håkons Hall, Lillehammer, Norway | NRK | Spain | "Antes muerta que sencilla" by María Isabel |
| 2005 | November 26 | Ethias Arena, Hasselt, Belgium | VRT RTBF |
Belarus | "My vmeste" (Мы вместе) by Ksenia Sitnik |
| 2006 | December 2 | Sala Polivalentă, Bucharest, Romania | TVR | Russia | "Vesenniy jazz" (Весенний джаз) by the Tolmachevy Sisters |
| 2007 | December 8 | Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands | AVRO | Belarus | "S druz'yami" (С друзьями) by Alexey Zhigalkovich |
| 2008 | November 22 | Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center, Limassol, Cyprus | CyBC | Georgia | "Bzz.." by Bzikebi |
| 2009 | November 21 | Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine | NTU | Netherlands | "Click Clack" by Ralf Mackenbach |
| 2010 | November 20 | Minsk-Arena, Minsk, Belarus | BTRC | Armenia | "Mama" (Մամա) by Vladimir Arzumanyan |
| 2011 | December 3 | Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex, Yerevan, Armenia | ARMTV | Georgia | "Candy Music" by CANDY |
| 2012 | December 1 | Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, Netherlands | AVRO | Ukraine | "Nebo" (Небо) by Anastasiya Petryk |
| 2013 | November 30 | Palace "Ukraine", Kyiv, Ukraine | NTU | Malta | "The Start" by Gaia Cauchi |
| 2014 | November 15 | Malta Shipbuilding, Marsa, Malta | PBS | Italy | "Tu primo grande amore" by Vincenzo Cantiello |
| 2015 | November 21 | Arena Armeec, Sofia, Bulgaria | BNT | Malta | "Not My Soul" by Destiny Chukunyere |
| 2016 | November 20 | Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, Malta | PBS | Georgia | "Mzeo" (მზეო) by Mariam Mamadashvili |
| 2017 | November 26 | Olympic Palace, Tbilisi, Georgia | GPB | Russia | "Wings" by Polina Bogusevich |
| 2018 | November 25 | Minsk-Arena, Minsk, Belarus | BTRC | Poland | "Anyone I Want to Be" by Roksana Węgiel |
| 2019 | November 24 | Gliwice Arena, Gliwice-Silesia, Poland | TVP | "Superhero" by Viki Gabor | |
| 2020 | November 29 | TVP Headquarters, Warsaw, Poland | France | "J'imagine" by Valentina | |
| 2021 | December 19 | La Seine Musicale, Paris, France | France Télévisions | Armenia | "Qami Qami" (Քամի Քամի) by Maléna |
| 2022 | December 11 | Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex, Yerevan, Armenia | ARMTV | France | "Oh maman! by Lissandro |
| 2023 | November 26 | Palais Nikaïa, Nice, France | France Télévisions | "Cœur" by Zoé Clauzure | |
| 2024 | November 16 | Caja Mágica, Madrid, Spain | RTVE | Georgia | "To My Mom" by Andria Putkaradze |
| 2025 | December TBA | TBA | TBA | TBD | TBD |
Countries[]
Active participants[]
| Country | Debut year | Best result | Broadcaster(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 2012 | 5th (2015) | RTSH |
| Armenia | 2007 | 1st (2010, 2021) | ARMTV |
| Cyprus | 2003 | 8th (2004, 2006) | CyBC |
| Estonia | 2023 | 15th (2023) | ERR |
| France | 2004 | 1st (2020, 2022, 2023) | France Télévisions |
| Georgia | 2007 | 1st (2008, 2011, 2016) | GPB |
| Germany | 2020 | 9th (2023) | KiKa (ARD/ZDF) |
| Ireland | 2015 | 4th (2022) | TG4 |
| Italy | 2014 | 1st (2014) | RAI |
| Malta | 2003 | 1st (2013, 2015) | PBS |
| Netherlands | 2003 | 1st (2009) | Current: AVROTROS Former: AVRO |
| North Macedonia | 2003 | 5th (2007, 2008) | MRT |
| Poland | 2003 | 1st (2018, 2019) | TVP |
| Portugal | 2006 | 8th (2022) | RTP |
| San Marino | 2013 | 10th (2013) | SMRTV |
| Spain | 2003 | 1st (2004) | TVE |
| Ukraine | 2006 | 1st (2012) | Suspilne |
Inactive participants[]
| Country | Debut year | Latest entry | Best result | Broadcaster(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2015 | 2019 | 3rd (2017, 2018) | SBS (2015–2016) ABC (2017–2019) |
| Azerbaijan | 2012 | 2021 | 7th (2013) | İTV |
| Belgium | 2003 | 2012 | 4th (2009) | Dutch: VRT French: RTBF |
| Bulgaria | 2007 | 2021 | 2nd (2014) | BNT |
| Croatia | 2003 | 2014 | 1st (2003) | HRT |
| Denmark | 2003 | 2005 | 4th (2005) | DR |
| Greece | 2003 | 2008 | 6th (2005) | ERT |
| Israel | 2012 | 2018 | 8th (2012) | IBA (2012, 2016) IPBC/Kan (2018) |
| Kazakhstan | 2018 | 2022 | 2nd (2019, 2020) | Khabar Agency |
| Latvia | 2003 | 2011 | 9th (2003) | LTV |
| Lithuania | 2007 | 2011 | 3rd (2008) | LRT |
| Moldova | 2010 | 2013 | 6th (2011) | TRM |
| Montenegro | 2014 | 2015 | 13th (2015) | RTCG |
| Norway | 2003 | 2005 | 3rd (2005) | NRK |
| Romania | 2003 | 2009 | 4th (2004) | TVR |
| Serbia | 2006 | 2022 | 3rd (2007, 2010) | RTS |
| Slovenia | 2014 | 2015 | 3rd (2015) | RTVSLO |
| Sweden | 2003 | 2014 | 3rd (2006) | SVT (2003–05, 2010–14) TV4 (2006–2007, 2009) |
| Switzerland | 2004 | 16th (2004) | RSI (SRG SSR) | |
| United Kingdom | 2003 | 2023 | 2nd (2004) | ITV (2003–05) BBC (2022–23) |
| Wales | 2018 | 2019 | 18th (2019) | S4C |
Ineligible countries[]
| Country | Debut year | Latest entry | Best result | Broadcaster | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belarus | 2003 | 2020 | 1st (2005, 2007) | 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 adult contest. |
| Russia | 2005 | 2021 | 1st (2006, 2017) | VGTRK (2005–2012) Carousel (Channel One/VGTRK) (2013–2021) NTV (2019) |
Carousel's co-owners, VGTRK and Channel One Russia, announced their withdrawal from the EBU, citing increased politicization of the organization and in protest to their country's exclusion in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 by the EBU due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. |
Former countries[]
| Country | Debut year | Latest entry | Best result | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia and Montenegro | 2005 | 13th (2005) | UJRT | |
Unsuccessful participation attempts[]
| Country | Possible broadcaster(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHRT | Country was one of the nineteen countries which applied to enter the 2007 contest but withdrew to enable Georgia to enter the contest due to a limit of participants at the time. The country applied to make its debut at the contest once again in 2008 along with Azerbaijan and Israel, but all three countries withdrew before the contest took place. |
| Monaco | TMC | Expressed interest in participating in the 2005 contest, however it did not come to fruition due to scheduling problems and harsh citizenship laws and thus they did not participate. They had stated an interest again to take part in the 2006 contest, however at the end they did not take part in the contest. |
| Slovakia | RTVS | Country was set to debut in the inaugural 2003 contest, represented by STV, but withdrew. STV's successor, RTVS, are currently evaluating the possibility of a debut in future contests. |
Non-participant broadcasters[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Andorra | RTVA | 2006 |
| Argentina | Radio WU | 2014 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHT1 | 2004, 2006–2011 |
| Finland | Yle | 2003 |
| Iceland | RÚV | 2003, 2021 |
| Kosovo | RTK | 2003, 2013 |
| Luxembourg | RTL | 2024 |
| New Zealand | World FM | 2014–2016 |
| Singapore | Music Radio | 2014–2016 |
| United States | KCGW-LP | 2014, 2016 |
| WXDR-LP | 2014 | |
| WUSB | 2015 | |
| KLZY, KMJY, WCGD | 2016 |
Presenters[]
| Year | Presenter(s) | Green room host | Opening ceremony presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Camilla Ottesen and Remee | None | None |
| 2004 | Stian Barsnes Simonsen and Nadia Hasnaoui | ||
| 2005 | Marcel Vanthilt and Maureen Louys | ||
| 2006 | Andreea Marin Bănică and Ioana Ivan | ||
| 2007 | Sipke Jan Bousema and Kim-Lian van der Meij | Sipke Jan Bousema and Kim-Lian van der Meij | |
| 2008 | Alex Michael and Sophia Paraskeva | None | |
| 2009 | Ani Lorak and Timur Miroshnychenko | Dmytro Borodin | |
| 2010 | Leila Ismailava and Denis Kourian | None | |
| 2011 | Gohan Gasparyan and Avet Barseghyan | ||
| 2012 | Kim-Lian van der Meij and Ewout Genemans | Ewout Genemans and Kim-Lian van der Meij | |
| 2013 | Timur Miroshnychenko and Zlata Ognevich | Timur Miroshnychenko and Elizabeth Arfush | |
| 2014 | Moira Delia | Gianni Zammit | |
| 2015 | Poli Genova | Joanna Dragneva | |
| 2016 | Ben Camille and Valerie Vella | Taryn Mamo Cefai | |
| 2017 | Helen Kalandadze and Lizi Japaridze | Liza Tsiklauri and Mariam Mamadashvili | |
| 2018 | Evgeny Perlin, Zinaida Kupriyanovich and Helena Meraai | Helena Meraai | Denis Dudinsky and Anna Kviloria |
| 2019 | Ida Nowakowska, Aleksander Sikora and Roksana Węgiel | None | Agata Konarska and Mateusz Szymkowiak |
| 2020 | Ida Nowakowska, Rafał Brzozowski and Małgorzata Tomaszewska | Mateusz Szymkowiak | |
| 2021 | Carla, Élodie Gossuin and Olivier Minne | Carla | |
| 2022 | Iveta Mukuchyan, Garik Papoyan, Karina Ignatyan and Robin the Robot | Dalita, Hamlet Arakelyan and Aram Mp3 | |
| 2023 | Olivier Minne, Laury Thilleman and Ophenya | Ophenya | Carla, Manon Théodet and Laura Tenoudji |
| 2024 | Ruth Lorenzo, Marc Clotet and Melani García | TBA | TBA |