The first episode of the Irish national selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 will be aired today. 32 candidates will compete for over five weeks of shows to represent Ireland on November 26 in Tbilisi.
As in previous editions, all shows have been filmed months ago, and they will be broadcast pre-recorded. That means the winner has been already working for months on preparations for the international song contest. The 32 entrants that will be featured on the live shows were selected through live auditions held nationwide. They competed with self-written original songs in the Irish language.
Junior Eurovision Eire 2017 will be hosted by Eoghan McDermott, while the resident judges, Fiachna Ó Braonáin and Bláthnaid Treacy, will be joined by a guest judge from Ireland’s Eurovision past. The guest judges will be Dustin the Turkey (2008), Jedward (2011, 2012), Brian Kennedy (2006), Niamh Kavanagh (1993, 2010), Linda Martin (1984, 1992) and Brendan Murray (2017).
The show schedule:
- First Semi-Final – October 22nd
- Second Semi-Final – October 29th
- Third Semi-Final – November 5th
- Fourth Semi-Final – November 12th
- Final – November 19th
The first semi-final of Junior Eurovision Éire will be broadcast today at 21.00 CET on TG4.