Estonia’s debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest is not the only big headline this morning. Within minutes of learning that the Baltic region will be taking part in the European music festival for the first time, we learn more about the plans they have in place for their first participation. The RRA has announced that 11-year-old artist Arhanna Sandra Arbma will be the country’s flag bearer after being chosen internally thanks to her time on the music programme “Tähtede Lava”. The song will be revealed soon.
A PRODIGIOUS PERFORMER WITH A GREAT EDUCATION BEHIND HER
The young virtuoso artist is a native of the city of Räpina, where she began her vocal and artistic training at a very young age at the musical school at the age of five. She has a wide vocal range marked by technique and an incredible gift for pleasing listeners and spectators. All these ingredients have led her to accumulate a long record of concerts and concerts despite her young age. Her next stop, the Junior Eurovision stage in Nice, will undoubtedly be the springboard of her career towards the European audience. In addition, Arhanna also has notions of playing other instruments such as the piano, making her a more versatile and well-rounded performer.
Arhanna Sandra is already familiar with the Eurovision world, so it won’t take her long to adapt and get used to the idea of this new musical adventure. She has already participated in various competitions with covers of songs related to the festival. For example, in the clip below, the artist managed to win the Odin International contest in the voice category with a flawless rendition of Kuula, the Estonian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.
SONG TO BE UNVEILED SOON
Along with the announcement of the artist as representative, the ERR has shed light on the release date of the unreleased song that we will hear in Nice this November and which will be part of their first ever entry to the Song Contest. The Estonian Broadcasting Corporation stresses that, unlike the senior festival, songs submitted for competition must be written with at least 60% of the lyrics in the mother tongue, ensuring that Arhanna Sandra’s song will be in Estonian. The publication date is scheduled for the next few months.
OnTuesday 29 August, Arhanna Sandra will give her first interview as a representative on the TV programme “Ringvaates”. In it, we are expected to find out more about how she was chosen as Estonian flag bearer, her feelings before the huge challenge or some additional details about the process of writing her song.
ESTONIA’S LONG AWAITED DEBUT AT JUNIOR EUROVISION
Estonia’s debut at this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest is undoubtedly the big and unexpected surprise of this year’s edition. After the bitter losses of Serbia and Kazakhstan, the little brother of the Baltic countries brings a touch of colour to the contest, which, together with the return of the German delegation, equals the number of participants of 2022. This is a historic edition, as for the first time we will see the entire Big 5 participating together in the same edition of Junior Eurovision.
Estonia’s promising new Eurovision adventure reopens the doors of the Baltic countries to Junior Eurovision since Lithuania and Latvia’s agonising joint withdrawal from the 2011 contest more than ten years ago. It is also a further northern European foray into the music contest, which is increasingly dominated by Mediterranean and central European presence following the exits of Russia, Belarus and eventually Kazakhstan.
Although the Estonian nation was so far the only Baltic country not to have attended any Junior Eurovision contest, the public broadcaster ERR has taken an interest in the contest on several occasions and is following it closely. So far, the broadcaster’s main obstacle was the financial constraints it was facing, complicating the chances of forging any participation.
JUNIOR EUROVISION 2023
The magic of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest returns to screens all over Europe to unite a whole continent through music, culture, friendship and enthusiasm in its 21st edition. The date chosen for this new edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is Sunday 26 November, which means that the contest will no longer be held in December after two consecutive editions during the Christmas holidays.
The chosen venue is Nice, which under the banner of “Heroes” is hosting a Eurovision event for the first time at the imposing Palais Nikaia event venue following the victory of the young and charismatic Lissandro in Armenia this December. This will be the second time that France has hosted the music event, having done so in 2021, just two years ago. A colourful web of fireworks and holi powder form a logo marked by urban and art-deco style, a perfect symbiosis that shows the youthful and contemporary spirit of the festival without leaving aside its French essence.
A total of 16 countries will take to the festival stage in a tightly contested competition. This time, Estonia joins the competition for the first time in 21 years of celebrating European music and youth, once again opening up the event to Northern Europe. On the other side of the scale, Kazakhstan and Serbia are leaving the contest, leaving the door open to rejoin in future editions. Who will take the crystal microphone and join the prestigious family of Junior Eurovision winners?