Spain will be the host country of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024.
The EBU and the Spanish broadcaster RTVE have confirmed that this years Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be taking place in Spain. The host city is expected to be announced in the near future. This year will mark the first time that Spain will host Junior Eurovision, and the first time since 1969 that Spain will host a Eurovision-related contest.
Zoé Clauzure and her song “Cœur” brought France their third Junior Eurovision win, after Valentina in 2020 and Lissandro in 2022. However, on this occassion, the French broadcaster declined to host the contest for a third time in four years. So the honours went to 2023 runners-up, Spain, who gladly accepted the offer, as Martin Österdahl explains:
“Twenty years after their Junior Eurovision Song Contest win, we’re thrilled to finally bring the Contest to Spain. We’re grateful to RTVE for accepting to host the 22nd edition of the competition which gives young artists from across Europe an incredible platform to showcase their talent. We’re very much looking forward to the fiesta that awaits in Spain later this year!”
As per the Junior Eurovision rules, the winning country has the first refusal to host next years contest. In the event that the winning country declines to host the following year, the runner-up will be asked if they would like to host. We have seen this happen previously in 2015, when Junior Eurovision 2014 winner Italy declined to host the 2015 contest, so runner-up Bulgaria stepped in to host.
Ana María Bordas, Spain’s Head of Delegation and Junior Eurovision Steering Group member, couldn’t be happier to see Junior Eurovision coming to Spain for the first time:
“RTVE welcomes with great enthusiasm EBU’s invitation for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 to be held in Spain.
For RTVE, hosting the next JESC is another step in the effort that the public broadcaster has made in recent years to promote Eurovision in Spain and give more relevance to our music.
From now on, RTVE will work closely with the EBU and the Steering Group to organize the best JESC possible. We will employ our best creative, technical and human resources to offer a festival designed for young artists in a festive and safe environment.
We are sure that the Spanish public will also receive this announcement with great enthusiasm and will welcome the Eurovision community with open arms.”
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will be taking place in November, with the exact date and city to be announced in the near future. At present, five countries have confirmed their participation for this years contest – France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
Spain are one of the most successful countries in Junior Eurovision, having finished in the top 5 on seven out of nine parpticipations. On their debut in 2003, they finished in second place, just nine points behind winners Croatia. They won for the first time in 2004 with María Isabel’s “Ante Muerte Que Sencilla”. They almost did the double when Antonio José finished just 3 points behind winners Belarus in 2005. This was followed by a fourth top 5 placing in 2006 when they finished in fourth place.
Spain decided they did not want to continue participating in Junior Eurovision from 2007, stating that “the Junior Eurovision promotes stereotypes we do not share.” Eventually, after a thirteen year absence, Spain returned to the contest in 2019 to great success, as Melani García brought the country another top 3 finish, followed by another 3rd place finish in 2020. Junior Eurovision 2021 and 2022 saw Spain out of the top 5 for the first time, finishing in 15th and 6th place respectively. Sandra Valero almost brought Spain their second victory in 2023, finishing in 2nd place.
Are you happy to see Junior Eurovision coming to Spain for the first time ever? Which city do you think will be hosting this years contest? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
