The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is an annual contest organised 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). The contest has been broadcast every year since its inception in 2003, and is based on the Eurovision Song Contest, one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. 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 2024[update], twenty-two contests have been held, with one winner each. Twelve different countries have won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The country with the highest number of wins is Georgia, with four wins. France is the country, that have won three times. Five have won the contest twice: Armenia, Belarus, Malta, Poland (first country to win two years in a row and the first country to win on home soil), and Russia, and five have won the contest once: Croatia, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Ukraine. Both Croatia and Italy achieved their wins on their debut participation in the contest. The first repeat winner was Belarus, completed in 2007, while the first country to win three times was Georgia, completed in 2016. North Macedonia is the country with the longest history in the contest without a win, having made eighteen appearances since their debut in the inaugural contest 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 (later known as OG3NE and Ogene), Stefania Liberakakis, Destiny Chukunyere, and Iru Khechanovi.[1]
Unlike the Eurovision Song Contest, the winning broadcaster of the previous year's Junior Eurovision Song Contest does not automatically receive the right to host the next edition, and until 2012 it was not tradition that the previous winning country hosts the next edition of the contest. This has been applied though since 2013, with only the 2015, 2018 and 2024 editions being held in a different country than the previous winner.
Since the contest began in 2003, all competing entries must be performed in an official, national or regional language language of the country they are representing. Between 2003 and 2007, the songs could only be performed exclusively in a national language, however, they could also have a few lines in another language. Then, between 2008 and 2016, at least 75% of the lyrics of each song had to be in a national language, with no restrictions on the language of the remaining part of the lyrics; this was changed to at least 60% in 2017, which has been the obligation ever since.
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Copenhagen
Croatia
Lillehammer
Spain
Hasselt
Belarus
Bucharest
Russia
Rotterdam
Limassol
Georgia
Kyiv
Armenia
Malta
Italy
Sofia
Minsk
Poland
France
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Vladimir Arzumanyan, winner of the 2010 contest for Armenia.
Gaia Cauchi, winner of the 2013 contest for Malta.
Vincenzo Cantiello, winner of the 2014 contest for Italy.
Destiny Chukunyere, winner of the 2015 contest for Malta.
Polina Bogusevich, winner of the 2017 contest for Russia.
Roksana Węgiel, winner of the 2018 contest for Poland.
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Daniel Davidsen, winner of the 2018 contest for Poland.
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