Junior Eurovision 2021: During a press conference held at La Seine Musicale, France Télévisions gave the latest updates on the show!
Good evening Europe! Bonsoir l'Europe !
The press conference started with a few words from Alexandre Redde, head of the French delegation. She said she was “proud, honoured and excited” that the competition would take place in Paris in December. According to her, it is a real “challenge” to organise the show, and the French broadcaster is taking it very seriously with the desire to achieve a perfect organisation!
She quickly made some important announcements, long awaited by fans of the competition. She revealed that the general theme of the competition would be the magic of Christmas in Paris. To highlight this, the stage will feature several elements of the Parisian architectural heritage, dear to Europeans.
Also, since the show will be organised by France, this edition French will be used as the language of presentation as well as English. Specifically, of the 3 hosts, Oliver Minne will present in English, Elodie Gossuin in French and Carla will use both languages. The aim is to make a bilingual show. The French organiser also reminds us that the French language is the official language of the competition, just like English.
The spokesperson of this edition for France will be the singer Angelina who represented her country during the 2018 edition by finishing second.
French touch à l'honneur
In order to meet the challenges linked to the organisation, the French delegation has repeatedly emphasised its wish to highlight French talent and national know-how. The French music industry will be in the spotlight with a performance by the French duo Offenbach to open the competition (the performance will trace “fifty years of French song“) while the interval acts will be performed by Valentina and Barbara Pravi, each covering their own songs. Finally, the postcards will highlight French and especially Parisian heritage during the Christmas period.The anthem of this show, the theme song, is Imagine. It will be sung by all the participants of the competition and the proceeds from the song will be donated to UNICEF to fight against child abuse in the world.
Health protocol
While the Covid-19 epidemic is on the rise again in Europe and several countries are implementing new restrictions, for the moment this is not the case in France. The competition will therefore be organised as announced with the public in the room, however some important clarifications were made by the French delegation.
Firstly, a full vaccination schedule will be required for all participants, including the public and journalists. Technicians, delegation members and accompanying persons will also be tested every 48 hours to avoid contamination and to identify cases as early as possible. Furthermore, there won’t be any visits or activities for delegations this year.
If the French government decides to put restrictions in place, the competition will be impacted. To deal with this eventuality, the organisers have prepared a plan B (with gauges and restrictions for participants) and a plan C (Broadcasters won’t need to shoot live-on-tape performances for Junior Eurovision 2021 and their music videos will air instead if any participant can’t take the stage in Paris due to Covid-19).
Are you guys excited for the show? Ready to get back to your French lessons? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!
