Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021

On 9 December 2020, it was announced that the contest was set to take place in France in 2021.^[3] It was hosted in Paris at La Seine Musicale, a 6,000-seat concert hall located on Île Seguin.^[4][5] The contest was held on 19 December, which is the latest date for the contest ever. The last time the contest was held in December was in 2012.

Paris

class=notpageimage|

Location of the selected host city (in blue)

Unlike Eurovision's adult version, the winning country originally did not receive the automatic rights to host the next contest. However, for the contests since 2011 (with the exceptions of 2012 and 2018), the winning country has had first refusal on hosting the next competition. Italy used this clause in 2015 to decline to host the contest after their victory in 2014. On 15 October 2017, the EBU announced a return to the original system in 2018, to help provide broadcasters with a greater amount of time to prepare, and to ensure the continuation of the contest into the future.^[6]

On 9 December 2020, it was confirmed by the EBU that France, having won the 2020 contest, would host the 2021 contest.^[3] The French Head of Delegation Alexandra Redde-Amiel had previously stated that France Télévisions was keen to host the contest.^[7] Spanish broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE) had also expressed an interest in hosting the contest if they had won the 2020 contest.^[8]

On 20 May 2021, during a press conference held by France Télévisions and the EBU, it was confirmed that the contest would be held in Paris. It was the second consecutive time the contest is held in a capital city.^[9]

On 2 September 2021, 19 countries were confirmed to be participating in the contest, equaling the number of participating countries from 2019.^[10] Albania, Armenia, Ireland, Italy, North Macedonia and Portugal all returned after a one-year absence, while Azerbaijan and Bulgaria returned after two and four-year absences respectively. For the first time since the contest's inception, Belarus did not participate, as the country's broadcaster BTRC is in the midst of a three-year suspension from the EBU.^[11][12] This made it the first edition since the 2004 contest to not see any of the previous year's participating countries withdraw voluntarily, as well as the first since 2018 to see the number of participating countries actively increase from the year before.

Prior to the event, a digital compilation album featuring all the songs from the 2021 contest was put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by Universal Music Group on 3 December 2021.^[13][14]

Participants of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021^[10][15]

Country	Broadcaster	Artist	Song	Language	Songwriter(s)
Albania	RTSH	Anna Gjebrea	"Stand By You"	Albanian, English	Gannin Arnold Endi Cuci Anna Gjebrea Sani M'airura Adam Watts
Armenia	AMPTV	Maléna	"Qami Qami" (Քամի Քամի)	Armenian, English[a]	Maléna Vahram Petrosyan Tokionine David Tserunyan
Azerbaijan	İTV	Sona Azizova	"One of Those Days"	Azerbaijani, English	Sona Azizova Maria Broberg Hampus Eurenius Francisco Faria Javid Shahbazbayov Martin Wiik
Bulgaria	BNT	Denislava and Martin	"Voice of Love"	Bulgarian, English	Vasil Garvanliev Vesna Malinova Stan Stefanov Davor Yordanovski
France	France Télévisions	Enzo	"Tic Tac"	French	Léa Ivanne Alban Lico
Georgia	GPB	Niko Kajaia	"Let's Count the Smiles"	Georgian, English, French	Giga Kukhianidze
Germany	Kika	Pauline	"Imagine Us"	German, English	Torben Brüggemann Alex Henke Ricardo Munoz Patrick Salmy
Ireland	TG4	Maiú Levi Lawlor	"Saor (Disappear)"	Irish[b]	Anna Banks Brendan McCarthy Cyprian Cassar Lesley Ann Halve Niall Mooney Lauren White Murphy
Italy	RAI	Elisabetta Lizza	"Specchio (Mirror on the Wall)"	Italian, English	Franco Fasano Marco Iardella Fabrizio Palaferri Stefano Rigamonti
Kazakhstan	KA	Alinur Khamzin and Beknur Zhanibekuly	"Ertegı älemı (Fairy World)" (Ертегі әлемі)	Kazakh, French	Gabriel Boileau Cloutier Nurbolat Qanay
Malta	PBS	Ike and Kaya	"My Home"	English	Cyprian Cassar Owen Leuellen Matt "Muxu" Mercieca
Netherlands	AVROTROS	Ayana	"Mata sugu aō ne" (またすぐ会おうね)	Dutch, English[c]	Ferry Lagendijk
North Macedonia	MRT	Dajte Muzika	"Green Forces"	Macedonian, English	Robert Bilbilov Robin Zimbakov
Poland	TVP	Sara James	"Somebody"	Polish, English	Jan Bielecki Dominik Buczkowski-Wojtaszek Patryk Kumór Tom Martin
Portugal	RTP	Simão Oliveira	"O rapaz"	Portuguese	Diogo Clemente Fernando Daniel
Russia	VGTRK	Tanya Mezhentseva	"Mon ami"	Russian, English[d]	Danu Boian Alexander Brashovyan Dmitriy Korochin Tanya Mezhentseva
Serbia	RTS	Jovana and Dunja	"Oči deteta (Children's Eyes)" (Очи детета)	Serbian	Ana Frlin
Spain	RTVE	Levi Díaz	"Reír"	Spanish	David Roma
Ukraine	UA:PBC	Olena Usenko	"Vazhil" (Важіль)	Ukrainian	Kateryna Komar Olena Usenko

The Russian representative, Tanya Mezhentseva, has participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest before; she represented Russia in 2019 along with Denberel Oorzhak, finishing in 13th place with the song "A Time for Us". This is only the third case (all of whom have been from Russia) in the competition to feature a returning artist from previous editions after Katya Ryabova (Russia 2009 and 2011) and Lerika (Moldova 2011 and Russia 2012).^[16] The Armenian representative, Maléna, was set to participate in 2020 with the song "Why" before Armenia withdrew from the competition.^[17]

Several measures were taken by the organisers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the spread of the Omicron variant. Although the live show was held with a full capacity audience wearing masks,^[18][19] the jury show, which took place on 18 December, was held without an audience.^[20] The opening ceremony, which took place on 13 December, was held without delegations attending.^[21]

In preparation for the event, the EBU had been considering three scenarios in which the contest could be held, which were announced on 24 August. The three scenarios include:^[22][23]

• The event is held with no restrictions, as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic began (scenario A).
• The event is held with social distancing measures in place (scenario B). The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was held in this scenario.
• The option is provided for acts to compete with their music video if they are unable to travel to Paris (scenario C, which was the option used by Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021) or to compete with a recording of the rehearsals if they are unable to compete in the televised final (this was the option used by Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021).^[24]

Carla, Élodie Gossuin and Olivier Minne were the presenters of the show. Carla was also the French entrant in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The hosts were revealed during a press conference on 17 November.^[25]

The slogan for the contest, Imagine, was revealed on 20 May 2021 during a press conference prior to the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.^[26][27] The slogan was chosen as a reference to the previous year's winning song "J'imagine", as well as a way to encourage children to be creative and pursue their dreams.^[28]

The official logo and theme artwork for the contest was unveiled on 24 August 2021. The artwork was inspired by three themes: imagination, Christmas and the Eiffel Tower.^[29]

Contestants were featured in "postcard" video introductions, set in a different location in Paris, or surrounding areas in France. Each began with a short clip of the upcoming performer flying over the skies of Paris via green screen, followed by an extended sequence involving dance troupes dancing in a specific Parisian location. Following that, a stream of light in the colours of the upcoming country's flag entered La Seine Musicale, and the upcoming participant's face was projected onto the exterior of the venue, signalling the beginning of the upcoming performance.^[30]

The event took place on 19 December 2021 at 16:00 CET. Nineteen countries participated, with the running order published on 13 December 2021.^[31] All the countries competing were eligible to vote with the jury vote, as well as participating and non-participating countries under an aggregated international online vote, eligible to vote.^[32] Armenia won with 224 points, also winning the online vote.^[33] Poland came second with 218 points, with France (who won the jury vote), Georgia, and Azerbaijan completing the top five. Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands occupied the bottom five positions.

The opening of the show featured the traditional flag parade, accompanied by French DJ duo Ofenbach performing a medley of their discography.^[34][35] During the interval, Valentina performed a Christmas version of her winning song "J'imagine". All participants then joined on stage for a rendition of the common song, "Imagine". Barbara Pravi closed the interval with a performance of her song "Voilà", with which she represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.^[36]

R/O	Country	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Germany	Pauline	"Imagine Us"	61	17
2	Georgia	Niko Kajaia	"Let's Count the Smiles"	163	4
3	Poland	Sara James	"Somebody"	218	2
4	Malta	Ike and Kaya	"My Home"	97	12
5	Italy	Elisabetta Lizza	"Specchio (Mirror on the Wall)"	107	10
6	Bulgaria	Denislava and Martin	"Voice of Love"	77	16
7	Russia	Tanya Mezhentseva	"Mon ami"	124	7
8	Ireland	Maiú Levi Lawlor	"Saor (Disappear)"	44	18
9	Armenia	Maléna	"Qami Qami"	224	1
10	Kazakhstan	Alinur Khamzin and Beknur Zhanibekuly	"Ertegı älemı (Fairy World)"	121	8
11	Albania	Anna Gjebrea	"Stand By You"	84	14
12	Ukraine	Olena Usenko	"Vazhil"	125	6
13	France	Enzo	"Tic Tac"	187	3
14	Azerbaijan	Sona Azizova	"One of Those Days"	151	5
15	Netherlands	Ayana	"Mata sugu aō ne"	43	19
16	Spain	Levi Díaz	"Reír"	77	15
17	Serbia	Jovana and Dunja	"Oči deteta (Children's Eyes)"	86	13
18	North Macedonia	Dajte Muzika	"Green Forces"	114	9
19	Portugal	Simão Oliveira	"O rapaz"	101	11

The 12 points from the juries were announced live by a spokesperson from each country. Countries that did not provide their own spokesperson had their 12 points announced by a local student from Paris.^[37][38]

Split results

Place	Combined		Jury		Online vote
	Country	Points	Country	Points	Country	Points
1	Armenia	224	France	120	Armenia	109
2	Poland	218	Poland	116	Poland	102
3	France	187	Armenia	115	Portugal	92
4	Georgia	163	Azerbaijan	109	France	67
5	Azerbaijan	151	Georgia	104	Ukraine	63
6	Ukraine	125	Russia	74	Serbia	62
7	Russia	124	Kazakhstan	64	Georgia  North Macedonia	59
8	Kazakhstan	121	Ukraine	62
9	North Macedonia	114	Italy	60	Kazakhstan	57
10	Italy	107	North Macedonia	55	Malta  Russia	50
11	Portugal	101	Malta	47
12	Malta	97	Albania	45	Italy  Spain	47
13	Serbia	86	Bulgaria	39
14	Albania	84	Spain	30	Germany	46
15	Spain	77[e]	Serbia	24	Azerbaijan	42
16	Bulgaria	77[e]	Germany	15	Albania  Ireland	39
17	Germany	61	Netherlands	9
18	Ireland	44	Portugal	9	Bulgaria	38
19	Netherlands	43	Ireland	5	Netherlands	34

Below is a summary of all 12 points received from each country's professional juries.

N.	Contestant	Nation(s) giving 12 points
3	France	Georgia,  Netherlands,  Serbia
	Georgia	Armenia,  France,  Malta
	Russia	Azerbaijan,  Kazakhstan,  North Macedonia
2	Armenia	Poland,  Portugal
	Azerbaijan	Italy,  Ukraine
	Poland	Germany,  Ireland
	Ukraine	Bulgaria,  Spain
1	Kazakhstan	Russia
	North Macedonia	Albania

According to the EBU, a total of over 4.3 million valid votes were received during the voting windows.^[49]

Online voting results^[50]

Country	Points	Estimated votes based on points
Armenia	109	~425,000
Poland	102	~398,000
Portugal	92	~359,000
France	67	~261,000
Ukraine	63	~246,000
Serbia	62	~242,000
Georgia	59	~230,000
North Macedonia	59	~230,000
Kazakhstan	57	~222,000
Malta	50	~195,000
Russia	50	~195,000
Italy	47	~183,000
Spain	47	~183,000
Germany	46	~179,000
Azerbaijan	42	~164,000
Albania	39	~152,000
Ireland	39	~152,000
Bulgaria	38	~148,000
Netherlands	34	~133,000

For a country to be eligible for potential participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, it needs to be an active member of the EBU.^[51]

•  Belgium – Walloon broadcaster RTBF stated in June that participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest was considered too expensive.^[52] Belgium last participated in 2012 with their entry solely supported by Flemish broadcaster VRT, while their last Walloon entry was in 2005.
•  Estonia – Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) did not debut at the 2021 contest due to financial issues, but the broadcaster would consider debuting in the coming years.^[53] Estonia, however, debuted in 2023.
•  Israel – Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) confirmed that they would not be participating in the junior contest due to focusing their efforts on the Eurovision Song Contest.^[54] Israel last participated in 2018.
•  Lithuania – Lithuanian Head of Delegation Audrius Giržadas confirmed that broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) would not be returning to the contest in 2021, citing low ratings during their time in the contest and the cost of participation.^[55] Lithuania last participated in 2011.
•  United Kingdom – At a Junior Eurovision press event in May 2021, the EBU stated that they were working to bring the United Kingdom back to the contest, possibly for the 2021 edition.^[56] However, the country did not appear on the final list of participants in September. The United Kingdom last participated as a unified nation in 2005.
•  Wales – In February 2021, S4C confirmed their non-participation.^[57][58] Wales last participated in 2019.

•  Australia – In August 2021, Australian broadcaster SBS indirectly confirmed that discussions about participation in the 2021 edition were ongoing, suggesting that the country could return after a year of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but did not disclose what their final decision was likely to be.^[59][60] Later that month, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), who had organised Australia's participation between 2017 and 2019, confirmed that they would not be participating in the 2021 contest, leaving the door open for SBS to take over if they were so inclined.^[61] A day after ABC announced they would not return, SBS stated they had ruled out a return as well.^[62] Australia last participated in 2019.

•  Belarus – Belarusian broadcaster BTRC was expelled from the EBU on 1 July, therefore losing the rights to broadcast and participate in the contest unless another Belarusian broadcaster joins the EBU.^[63] In August 2021, it was confirmed that the suspension would last for three years, however, the EBU can review it at any point before it expires.^[64]

Broadcasts in participating countries

Country	Broadcaster(s)[65]	Commentator(s)	Ref.
Albania	RTSH, RTSH Muzikë, Radio Tirana 1	Andri Xhahu	[66]
Armenia	AMPTV	Arman Margaryan and Hrachuhi Utmazyan	[67]
Azerbaijan	İTV	Un­known
Bulgaria	BNT 1, BNT 4	Elena Rosberg and Petko Kralev	[68]
France	France 2	Stéphane Bern and Laurence Boccolini	[69]
Georgia	GPB	Nikoloz Lobiladze	[70]
Germany	Kika	Constantin Zöller	[71][72]
Ireland	TG4	Louise Cantillon	[73]
Italy	Rai Gulp, RaiPlay	Mario Acampa, Marta Viola and Giorgia Boni	[74][75][76]
Kazakhstan	Khabar Agency	Kaldybek Zhaisanbai and Mahabbat Esen	[77]
Malta	TVM	No commentary	[78]
Netherlands	AVROTROS	Buddy Vedder	[46][79]
North Macedonia	MKRTV	Eli Tanaskovska	[37]
Poland	TVP1, TVP Polonia, TVP ABC	Marek Sierocki [pl] and Aleksander Sikora [pl]	[80][81][82]
Portugal	RTP1, RTPi, RTPi Asia, RTPi America	Nuno Galopim	[83][84]
Russia	Carousel	Anton Zorkin and Khryusha	[41][85]
Serbia	RTS 2, RTS Svet	Tijana Lukić	[86][87]
Spain	La 1, TVE Internacional	Tony Aguilar and Julia Varela	[47]
Ukraine	UA:Kultura	Viktor Diachenko	[44][88]

Broadcasters and commentators in non-participating countries

Country	Broadcaster(s)	Commentator(s)	Ref.
Iceland	RÚV[f]	Felix Bergsson	[89][90]

Some countries rebroadcast the event several days later in late 2021 or early 2022 like Albania and Portugal during Christmas.^[91]

According to the EBU, 33 million people watched the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021, with a viewing share of 15.6%.^[92] France had record high viewing figures for the contest, while the Netherlands had record low viewing figures.^[93][94] For the following countries, viewership information is known:

Estimated viewership by country

Country	Viewership	Ref(s)
Bulgaria	230,000	[95]
France	1,638,000	[93][96]
Germany	230,000	[96]
Ireland	22,000	[97]
Italy	15,112	[98][96]
Netherlands	175,000	[94][96]
Poland	4,900,000	[96]
Portugal	288,000	[96]
Russia	513,000[g]	[96]
Spain	911,000	[96]

• Eurovision Song Contest 2021