Georgia is the 12th and last Junior Eurovision 2020 participant to name their representative and song, but moved one step closer by naming their three finalists for next Friday’s Ranina final.
For the third year running, Georgia is using the Ranina contest to select its artist, and next week we will know which one of three finalists Sandra Gadelia, Marita Khvedelidze, and Rati Gelovani will be crowned the winner.
In the Ranina semi-final, each of the five children had to lead famed Georgian jazz sextet The Quintessence. The jury for the Semi-final is Davit Evgenidze, a famed composer who wrote Georgia’s Junior Eurovision 2019 entry “We Need Love” and was also a judge on Georgian Idol and Ranina, The Quintessence’s producer Buka Potosia, and Georgian musician Tika Rukhadze.
Semi-finalists Sandra Gadelia and Shio Kavsadze did not advance to the final.
Georgia remains Junior Eurovision’s most successful nation ever with three victories, with last year’s representative Giorgi Rostiashvili coming in 14th being their worst ever performance.
Neighbors Armenia are also a successful entrant at the contest, with one victory, four second place and two third place finishes.
However, Armenia’s national broadcaster AMPTV have announced that they will withdraw from Junior Eurovision 2020.
Citing restrictions due to the Armenian government instituting martial law in the country due to the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, AMPTV noted that they were not able to put together a show from their studios in Yerevan.
Executive Supervisor of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest Martin Österdahl said that “Armenia is one of Junior Eurovision’s most successful competitors, having participated in 13 previous contests and never finished outside the top 10. We understand the reasons for their withdrawal, but it’s very sad news and they will be missed. We hope to welcome them back in 2021.”
Additionally, Armenia’s head of delegation David Tserunyan revealed on his Instagram that Malena Fox was due to represent Armenia at Junior Eurovision 2020, having being selected internally by AMPTV back in July 2020.
With Armenia withdrawing, Junior Eurovision 2020 will now be the contest with the joint lowest number of participants (Junior Eurovision 2012 also only had 12 entrants).
Do #YOU miss Armenia’s participation at Junior Eurovision 2020? Do #YOU think Georgia got it right with their three Ranina finalists? Let us know in the comments, on social media, or in our forum.
