Junior Eurovision Song Contest
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Junior_Eurovision_Song_Contest".

The 'singing girl' who formed part of the logo of each contest until 2007 1

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (French: Concours Eurovision de la Chanson Junior),1 is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a different European city each year.

Each participating broadcaster sends an act and an original song lasting between 2 minutes 30 seconds and 2 minutes 45 seconds2 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 (though a back-up jury may be used if a broadcaster is unable to screen the contest live or there is a technical failure with the televoting).2 The ten entries that have received the most votes in each country are awarded points ranging from 1 to 8, then 10 and 12. The overall winner of the contest is the entry that has received the most points after all the scores have been collected and totalled.

The contest is open exclusively to broadcasters that are members of the EBU.2 The competition boasts many similarites to the Eurovision Song Contest from which its name is taken. Originally the competition was open to children between the ages of 8 and 15;3 however since 2007 the age range has been narrowed and presently only children aged 10 to 15 on the day of the contest are allowed to enter.4

In addition to the countries taking part, the contest has been screened in many other territories including Australia, Estonia, Finland, Germany5 and Israel.6 Since 2006 the contest has been streamed live on the Internet through the official website of the contest7 using Octoshape P2P technology.

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Contents

Origins and history

The origins of the contest date back to 2000 when Danmarks Radio held a song contest for Danish children that year and the following year.89 The idea was extended to a Scandinavian song festival in 2002, MGP Nordic, with Denmark, Norway and Sweden as participants.1011 The EBU picked up the idea for a song contest featuring children and opened the competition to all EBU member broadcasters making it a pan-European event. The working title of the programme was "Eurovision Song Contest for Children",12 branded with the name of the EBU's already popular song competition, the Eurovision Song Contest. Denmark was asked to host the first JESC after their experience with their own contests and the MGP Nordic.

Ksenia Sitnik claimed Belarus' first win in 2005 with My Vmeste

After a successful first contest, the second was plagued with location problems. The event originally should have been organised by British broadcaster ITV in Manchester.5 ITV then announced that due to financial and scheduling reasons, the contest would not take place in the United Kingdom after all.13 It is also thought that another factor to their decision was the previous years' audience ratings for ITV which were below the expected amount.14The EBU approached Croatian broadcaster HRT, who had won the previous contest, to stage the event in Zagreb;15 though it later emergered that HRT had 'forgotten' to book the venue in which the contest would have taken place.16 It was at this point, with five months remaining until the event would be held, that Norwegian broadcaster NRK stepped in to host the contest in Lillehammer.16

Broadcasters have had to bid for the rights to host contest since 2004 avoiding such problems from happening again. Belgium was therefore the first country to successfully bid for the rights to host the contest in 2005.17

All contests have been broadcast in 16:9 widescreen and in high definition.18 All have also had a CD produced with the songs from the show. Between 2003 and 2006, DVDs were also produced of the contest though this ended due to lack of interest.19

The winner of the contest is decided by a televote. Between 2003 and 2005 viewers had around 10 minutes to vote after all the songs had been performed. Since 2006 the televoting lines have been open throughout the programme20 and profits made from the televoting during the 2007 and 2008 contest being donated to UNICEF.21

Prior to 2007, a participating broadcaster's failure in not broadcasting the contest live would incurr a fine. Now broadcasters are no longer required to broadcast the contest live, but may transmit it with some delay at a time that is more appropriate for children's television broadcast.22

The 2007 contest was the subject of the 2008 doctumentary Sounds Like Teen Spirit : A Popumentary which followed several contestants as they made their way through the national finals and onto the show itself.23 The film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival 2008 and was premiered in Ghent, Belgium24 and Limassol, Cyprus25 where the 2008 contest will be held. The film has a definite release in the UK, although the title may change.

Format

The format of the contest has remained relatively unchanged over the course of its history in that the format consists of successive live musical performances by the artists entered by the participating broadcasters. The EBU claims that the aim of the programme is "to promote young talents in the field of popular music, by encouraging competition among the children performers."4

The programme is always screened on a Saturday night in late November/early December at 2015 CET and lasts approximately 2 hours 15 minutes, ending at 2230 CET.

Malin Reitan representing Norway in the 2005 contest with Sommer Og Skolefri

Traditionally the contest will consist of an opening ceremony in which the participants are welcomed to the event, the performances of the entries, a recap of the songs to help televoting viewers decide which entries to vote for, an interval act usually performed after the televoting has closed, the results of the televoting or back-up jury voting announced by children aged 10 to 15 (the single exception to this being the 2004 contest when the Spanish results were announced by a puppet26) which is then followed by the declaration of the winner and a reprise of the winning song. At various points throughout the show, networks may opt out for a few minutes to screen a commercial break.

The contest always features presenters (usually one man and one woman though the 2006 contest was a notable exception to this) who regularly appear on stage and with the contestants in the green room. The presenters are also responsible for repeating the televoting results immediately after the spokesperson of each broadcaster to confirm which country the points are being given to. In the 200427 and 200528 contests the presenters would speak in both English and French as there were French speaking broadcasters taking part. Only English was spoken in the 2003 contest29 and from 200630 onwards after all French speaking broadcasters had withdrawn (Belgium is now only represented by the Dutch language broadcaster VRT).

Despite the Junior Eurovision Song Contest being modelled on the format of the Eurovision Song Contest, there are many distinctive differences that are unique to the children's contest. For instance, while the main vocals must be sung live during the contest, backing vocals may be recorded onto the backing track.31 Each country's entry must be selected through a televised national final (unless circumstances prevent this and permission is gained from the EBU).32 Since 2005 every contestant has automatically been awarded 12 points in a bid to prevent the infamous "nul points" situation happening to the younger contestants.2728

The winners of each contest receive a trophy and a certificate.2 Unlike the Eurovision Song Contest, the winning country does not receive the right to host the next contest.

Entry restrictions

The song must be written and sung in the national language (or one of the national languages) of the country. Performers must be a national of that country or have lived in the country they are representing for at least two and a half years. The song submitted into the contest cannot have previously been released commercially.2 The rule stating that children-performers also must not have previously released music commercially was active from 2003 to 200632 and was dropped in 2007 thus allowing already experienced children-singers and bands in the competition.31 From 2008 onwards, adults will be allowed to assist in writing entries.31 Previously, all writers had to be aged 10 to 15.

Organisation

The contest is produced each year by the European Broadcasting Union. The Executive Supervisor of every contest has been Svante Stockselius who also heads the "Steering Group" that decides on the rules of the contest, which broadcaster hosts the next contest and over-sees the entire production of each programme.33 Steering Group meetings tend to include the "Heads of Delegation" whose prinicpal job is to liaise between the EBU and the broadcaster they represent. It is also their duty to make sure the performers are in a stress-free environment during their time in the host city and are never left alone without an adult.2

Participation

Further information: List of countries in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Participation in the contest tends to change dramatically each year. Seven countries have been represented in every contest. In recent years fewer West European countries have taken part whilst more East European countries have joined the contest. The original Scandinavian broadcasters left the contest in 2006 and began organising the MGP Nordic competition again which had not been produced since the Junior Eurovision Song Contest began.

Up to and including the 2008 contest, a total of 27 members of the EBU have taken part in the contest.

Participation since 2003:      Entered at least once      Never entered, although eligible to do so      Debut entry intended, but withdrew before final

Debut of nations

Year Debuting Countries
2003  Belarus,  Belgium,  Croatia,  Cyprus,  Denmark,  Greece,  Latvia, Flag of the Republic of Macedonia FYR Macedonia,  Malta,  Netherlands,  Norway,  Poland,  Romania,  Spain,  Sweden,  United Kingdom
2004  France,  Switzerland
2005  Russia,  Serbia and Montenegro
2006  Portugal,  Serbia,  Ukraine
2007  Armenia,  Bulgaria,  Georgia,  Lithuania


Withdrawal of nations

Year Withdrawing Countries
2005 Flag of France France, Flag of Switzerland Switzerland, Flag of Cyprus Cyprus,nb 1 Flag of Poland Poland
2006 Flag of Norway Norway, Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom, Flag of Latvia Latvia, Flag of Denmark Denmark, Flag of Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro
2007 Flag of Croatia Croatia, Flag of Spain Spain
2008 Flag of Sweden Sweden, Flag of Portugal Portugal
  1. ^ Cyprus would return to the contest the following year.

Breakdown of each contest

In total, four countries have won the competition: Croatia, Spain and Russia have each won once while Belarus has won twice.

Year Winner Language Artist Song Translation Points Margin Second place Date Venue Location
2003 Flag of Croatia Croatia Croatian Dino Jelusić Ti Si Moja Prva Ljubav You Are My First Love 134 9 Flag of Spain Spain November 15, 2003 Forum Copenhagen Flag of Denmark Copenhagen
2004 Flag of Spain Spain Spanish María Isabel Antes Muerta Que Sencilla Better Dead Than Normal 171 31 Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom November 20, 2004 Haakons Hall Flag of Norway Lillehammer
2005 Flag of Belarus Belarus Russian Ksenia Sitnik My Vmeste We Are Together 149 3 Flag of Spain Spain November 26, 2005 Ethias Arena Flag of Belgium Hasselt
2006 Flag of Russia Russia Russian Sisters Tolmachevy Vesenniy Jazz Spring Jazz 154 25 Flag of Belarus Belarus December 02, 2006 Sala Polivalentă Flag of Romania Bucharest
2007 Flag of Belarus Belarus Russian Alexey Zhigalkovich S druzyami With Friends 137 1 Flag of Armenia Armenia December 08, 2007 Ahoy Rotterdam Flag of the Netherlands Rotterdam
2008 - - - - - - - - November 22, 2008 Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center Flag of Cyprus Limassol
2009 - - - - - - - - - - Flag of Ukraine Kyiv

Future

The next contest takes place on 22 November 2008 in Limassol, Cyprus.34 For the first time 50% televoting and 50% jury voting will be used to decide the winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. There were also plans to introduce an independent jury that are not connected to any of the participating nations, acting as an 'extra country' in the voting system but they were dropped.3534

The EBU invited broadcasters to bid for the rights to host the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Belarus, Serbia and Ukraine were bidders for this edition.36 TV4 of Sweden had also submitted a bid but later decided to withdraw from the contest completely.37 NTU of Ukraine won the rights to the 2009 contest and will host it in Kiev.38

References

  1. ^ a b "'New logo for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest'". Eurovision.tv (13 March 2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Extract of rules of the 2006 contest". JuniorEurovision.tv (Through Archive.org) (2006). Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  3. ^ "Official information on the 2005 contest". EBU (24 November 2005). Retrieved on 2008-07-05.
  4. ^ a b "Generic contest information page". EBU (December 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-03.
  5. ^ a b "Confirmation of Manchester as original host". EBU (16 November 2003). Retrieved on 2008-07-02.
  6. ^ "'Israel getting into the JESC spirit'". ESC Today (22 November 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-05.
  7. ^ "'Junior Eurovision live on the internet'". ESC Today (1 December 2006). Retrieved on 2008-07-05.
  8. ^ "IMDB: Børne1'erens melodi grand prix 2000". IMDB (1 May 2000). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  9. ^ "IMDB: de unges melodi grand prix 2001". IMDB (1 May 2001). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  10. ^ "IMDB: MGP Nordic 2002". IMDB (1 December 2002). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  11. ^ "MGP Nordic 2002 (in Danish)". esconnet.dk (27 April 2002). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  12. ^ "First EBU press release on JESC 2003". EBU (22 November 2002). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  13. ^ "'Junior contest not to take place in Manchester'". ESC Today (13 May 2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  14. ^ "JESC UK ratings". Guardian (17 November 2003). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  15. ^ "'Junior 2004 in Croatia'". ESC Today (1 June 2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  16. ^ a b "'Junior contest moves to Norway'". ESC Today (17 June 2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  17. ^ "'Junior 2005 on 26 November in Belgium'". ESC Today (20 November 2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  18. ^ "'The new Junior Eurovision Song Contest in high definition'". EBU (November 2003). Retrieved on 2008-07-02.
  19. ^ "'No DVD from JESC 2007'". Oiko Times (17 January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  20. ^ "'Televoting all night long'". ESC Today (20 October 2006). Retrieved on 2008-07-05.
  21. ^ "UNICEF information (in Dutch)". UNICEF.nl (6 December 2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  22. ^ "Information on the fine/ban rule implemented on Croatia and the scrapping of the live rule". ESC Today (4 October 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-05.
  23. ^ "Information on the film based on the 2007 contest". Toronto International Film Festival (4 September 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
  24. ^ "Video of Belgian premiere of JESC Film". YouTube (16 October 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
  25. ^ "Premiere of JESC film in Cyprus". CyBC (September 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
  26. ^ "Clip of 2004 voting shows the Spanish results announced by a puppet". YouTube (18 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-11-10.
  27. ^ a b "The automatic 12 points was absent in 2004". YouTube (18 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-03.
  28. ^ a b "The automatic 12 points awarded for the first time in 2005 can be seen here, as well as evidence of use of French language". YouTube (19 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-03.
  29. ^ "Clip of 2003 voting, only English was used this year". YouTube (16 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-11-09.
  30. ^ "Clip of 2006 voting. English was used as the sole language from this year onwards (the Russian heard is from the local commentary and was not included in the original broadcast)". YouTube (21 July 2008). Retrieved on 2008-11-09.
  31. ^ a b c "Rules alterations for 2008 contest as well as details of traditional rules". ESC Kaz (2008). Retrieved on 2008-11-11.
  32. ^ a b "Rules of the 2003 contest". JuniorEurovision.tv. Retrieved on 2008-07-05.
  33. ^ "Information on the Steering Group". CyBC (6 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-06.
  34. ^ a b "Voting news and Cyprus information". Eurovision.tv (22 April 2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
  35. ^ "News on potential voting changes". Oiko Times (22 April 2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
  36. ^ "2009 bid information". Oiko Times (2 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  37. ^ "2009 Sweden bid information". Oiko Times (14 September 2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
  38. ^ "Ukraine win 2009 rights". ESC Today (6 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-18.

External links

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Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Years
2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008
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Countries in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
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