This Wednesday at 14:00 CET, the 19th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest has been presented in a press conference held at the RiffX Studios of La Seine Musicale. There, all the details of this year event have been announced, revealing some news about the organization of the most famous children’s musical event in Europe.
Alexandra Redde-Amiel, head of the French delegation and executive producer of the show, has chaired the press conference in which the last French Junior Eurovision representatives have intervened: Angelina (2018), Carla (2019), Valentina (2020) and the current representative, Enzo (2021). All of them have delighted those present with a performance in for voices of this year French entry “Tic Tac”, with the three female representatives performing the choirs for Enzo’s song.
15 cameras will be used to show to all Europe the work of France TV hosting the contest, which more than 300 volunteers from all over France making it possible in a joint work of 10 days.
Three hosts and French language returns
Today it has also been confirmed that Carla Lazzari will join Élodie Gossuin and Olivier Minne as presenters of the 2021 edition in Paris. At the press conference, Carla also highlighted how exciting it was to experience Valentina’s victory last year in Poland as a commentator for France Télévisions alongside Stéphane Bern. She has also highlighted how Eurovision is a great family and a formidable experience.
It has also been confirmed that the show will be conducted 50% in French by Élodie Gossuin and and 50% in English by Olivier Minne. Carla will speak in both languages during the 2 and a half hours of the show. Both Élodie and Carla are ambassadors of UNICEF, an organization with which the EBU will collaborate this year and to which it will allocate the benefits obtained from the contest.
Opening ceremony
The traditional Opening Ceremony to welcome all delegations will be held at the Studio Gabriel on the Champs Elysees on Monday, December 13 starting from 17:00 CET. The event will be broadcast live on France TV and Junioreurovision.TV, the contest official website. The event will be hosted by Charlee Moss, daughter of the last French Eurovision winner, Marie Myriam, in 1977.
OFENBACH to open the show with a special remix
Duet Ofenbach will open the show on December 19 performing at the traditional “Flag Parade” with a remix that will narrate the last 50 years of French music and its great commercial and melodic successes.
With more than a billion streams and 350 million views on YouTube, 16 platinum singles and 15 gold singles, Ofenbach is one of the most important duets on the French music scene. They have done more than 250 shows, 3 European tours, 2 in the US and one in Asia.
César Laurent de Rumel and Dorian Lauduique met studying (they attended the same university) and immediately they shared a passion for music. After some experiments, the two boys realized that they wanted to make a profession of that passion and both decided to interrupt their studies to dedicate themselves completely to music: “We have always wanted to make music and not because we were looking for notoriety. We have always felt the need to express ourselves through our music”, both explained.
Ofenbach started to become a success in about two years, remixing pop hits like James Bay’s “Hold back the river” and Bob Sinclair’s “Feel the vibe”. They also reviewed Walter Murphy’s reinterpretation of “Symphony No. 5″ by Beethoven, from “Saturday Night Fever”, a 1977 cult film directed by John Badham and starring John Travolta and Karen Lynn Gorney. Then came the first songs signed by the two boys, like “What I want” and “You don’t know me”, released for some independent labels.
Interval acts and common song
The contest will feature two very special performances, Valentina will say goodbye to her Junior Eurovision reign with a most Christmas version of her winner song “J’Imagine” that led her to triumph in Warsaw last year. Redde-Amiel has also confirmed that the idea of bringing Junior Eurovision to Christmas was welcomed by the EBU and, possibly, it will last for years to come.
The other special performance of the night will come from the hand of the second place in Eurovision 2021, Barbara Pravi, who will perform a most “chic” version of her song “Voilá”.
This year’s common song will again be another of the evening’s special acts. The song will be called “Imagine” and will be released on digital platforms on November 19. The benefits will go to UNICEF and will address the protection and rights of children, which are systematically violated in many neighboring countries.
This year’s postcards, introducing each participant act, have been confirmed to draw on French heritage and monuments with dances and choreographies performed in that places.
Changes On public online voting
It has been confirmed by the organization that the voting system will remain the same for this year, but once again the public will be able to vote a maximum of 5 countries and a minimum of 3, instead of only 3 countries like last year. It will be opened on December 17, two days before the show and during the show on December 19.
However, the organization has shared that in 2022 the online voting system will be revised to introduce changes on it.
Angélina will be the spokesperson for the French jury during the voting.
Not live on tape performances
In case of a participant testing positive for Covid-19, no live on tape previously recorded will be needed and during the show it will be broadcast a recorded video from a rehearsal, if the participant has already rehearsed, or the official music video if the participant has not been able to had contact with the stage of La Seine Musicale. From the organization this possibility is seen quite remote due to the strict sanitary measures and regular checks that will be carried out during the ten days of the competition.
Covid health pass required
The French “Passe Sanitaire”, “Healt Pass” or “Health Certificate” in the rest of the European Union will be mandatory to access to La Seine Musicale. If you want to enter to La Seine Musicale for Junior Eurovision 2021, it will be obligatory to submit one of the following three supporting documents:
- A negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of the show (PCR test, antigen test or self-test supervised by a health professional).
- An official certificate of recovery recognised by French authorities: a positive screening test, PCR or antigen of more than 11 days and less than 6 months validity.
- A complete vaccination certificate recognised by the EU.
It is recommended to present the test result in digital format. However, it will be possible to have it in PDF format in your mobile phone or physically printed on paper. In accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, this pass is required for adults and children from 12 years of age. Spectators who do not reside in France must bring an official health document from their country that should be valid in the rest of the European Union, participants and delegations included.