UPDATE: Which countries will compete at Junior Eurovision 2020?

Junior Eurovision is back to Poland after the second victory of the country in a row. The 2020 edition will be held on November 29 at a large TV studio facility in Warsaw. In the coming months, we’ll be discovering the countries that will make up the line-up for the contest and how they will select their entry.

19 countries took part in the last year’s edition, which saw the return of Spain. The upcoming edition will see Germany’s debut at the song contest for kids. 12 countries have already confirmed they will participate at Junior Eurovision:

• France: it will be the 3rd time in a row the country will compete at Junior Eurovision having got very good results in the past two editions. The French Head of Delegation announced the news during an interview for Programme-TV: “I can confirm that we intend to participate!”, said Alexandra Redde-Amiel.
• Georgia: the three-times winner will compete at the contest and will select its representative from the Ranina talent show, from which they selected the last two representatives.
• Germany will make its debut at Junior Eurovision 2020. Their entry will be composed winner of the last year’s edition of ‘Dein Song’ Peer while he will be involved in the selection process of the artist that will perform his song in Warsaw. NDR and ZDF will broadcast the show on the kids’ channel KiKA.
• Ireland: TG4 will once again participate in Junior Eurovision. The Irish-speaking broadcaster will select their entry following the last year’s method, they will select the singer and the song separately.
• Italy: Rai Gulp confirmed on Instagram Stories the country’s intentions to take part after Junior Eurovision 2019.
• Kazakhstan: Khabar Agency confirmed officially they will compete at Junior Eurovision for the 3rd time after their 2nd place in 2019.
• The Netherlands has participated in every edition of Junior Eurovision and, of course, they will this year too! The final of Junior Songfestival 2020 will take place on September 26th at Rotterdam’s Ahoy. The four songs will be published this week.
• Poland: the host country will select its representative from Szansa Na Sukces, as they did in 2019.
• Russia: following the tradition, Russia will select their entry from a national final that will take place on September 16th, but will be broadcast on the 19th. This year, however, they will announce the winner to everyone after the broadcast.
• Serbia: according to Eurofestivales, the Balkan country will compete at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
• Spain: today, RTVE has confirmed they will take part in the junior competition in Poland. This will be their second participation in a row after the long-awaited return. Some artists have already expressed their willingness to represent Spain, but the broadcaster hasn’t revealed anything about the selection process yet.
• Ukraine: UA:PBC has published updates about the preparations for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which has been interpreted as a confirmation by some media outlets.

So, 8 countries have officially revealed they will be present at Junior Eurovision, while another 4 have confirmed participation unofficially or not very clear. Georgia, The Netherlands, Poland and Russia are already working on their national selections. From the last year’s participants, we don’t have any news from Wales, North Macedonia, Albania, Australia, Armenia, Belarus, Malta and Portugal.

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest will take place under the motto ‘Move The World’. It will be the first edition supervised by Jon Ola’s successor Martin Österdahl.

Martin Österdahl, the new EBU Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest and Junior Eurovision Song Contest said: “I couldn’t be more excited to be working with the incredible team at TVP on my first Junior Eurovision Song Contest. They have the skills, creativity and enthusiasm to produce a fantastic show. It’s never been more important to recognize the power of young people to “Move The World” and I’m looking forward to seeing all the talented singers perform later this year.”

The EBU has revealed that they’ll follow the course of events surrounding the Covid-19 crisis. They have stated they will discuss an alternative with its members in a number of different scenarios if needed. Also, they haven’t decided if there will be an audience.

We understand that people are eager to know how the current COVID-19 crisis will affect the organization of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2020. Of course, the health of participants, employees and visitors will always be paramount. The EBU, together with its Polish Member TVP, will work in close collaboration over the coming weeks and months with the Polish health authorities mapping out the impact of COVID-19 on this year’s event. It is our intention to ensure the 2020 Contest can take place in circumstances that protect the health and safety of everyone attending the event.

The current situation across Europe is likely to remain uncertain for the coming months and at this stage, we cannot comment on the final organization for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest later this year., said the EBU.

Which countries do you want to see competing at Junior Eurovision 2020?