France and its capital Paris are ready to welcome a new edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest! They were looking forward to it after 43 years since the last Senior Eurovision hosted in the country, in Paris in 1978, so they already have everything prepared to inaugurate the great week of Junior Eurovision 2021.
All the activities and events that will surround the contest will start this afternoon at 5:00 p.m. CET with the Opening Ceremony of Junior Eurovision 2021, which will follow lots of rehearsals, press conferences and great enthusiasm joined to the magic of Christmas this year.
Sadly, and for a second year in a row, the Opening Ceremony won’t see all contestants and delegations together due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and the raising of cases in Europe in the recent weeks. The initial idea was to celebrate it back to normal, but the best option to ensure the presence of all participants on the live contest next Sunday and preserve their health is to do it remotely.
Charlee Moss will host the Opening Ceremony from the Studio Gabriel on the Champs Elysees. There will be a genuine connection between the last Eurovision Senior hosted in Paris in 1978 and the return of an event from the Eurovision family to Paris this year with the Junior Eurovision Song 2021, as Charlee Moss is the daughter of Marie Myriam, the winner of Eurovision 1977 with the song “L’oiseau Et L’enfant”.
The Opening Ceremony will feature special guests, including the last Junior Eurovision winner, Valentina, and some personalities from the Government of Paris, from France Télévisions with the head of delegation, Alexandra Redde-Amiel, and from the European Broadcasting Union with the project manager, Gert Kark, and the Executive Supervisor, Martin Österdahl.
As is traditional, the Running Order Draw will also take place to determine the countries that will open and close the show, and the running spot of the host country, France. The complete running order for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 will be decided this afternoon by the producers of the show to showcase the different styles of music and ensure variety and excitement. Stay tunned to ESCplus and be the first to discover the full running order for Junior Eurovision 2021!
Paris awaits you! Do not forget that you will be able to follow the Junior Eurovision 2021 Opening Ceremony live this afternoon, starting at 17:00 CET both through the ESCPlus multi-window system or from the contest’s official YouTube channel.
Remember that you can get your copy of the ESCplus Junior Eurovision 2021 Handbook, which includes biographies, lyrics and voting sheets, by clicking below