The views expressed in this editorial are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of ESC United, its editorial board, its readers, or any other person, entity, or organisation.
Something I’ve noticed in the last few days is the amount of countries returning to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest this year, held in Malta in a shipbuilding yard this November. I will admit that I am not a fan of the junior edition of Europe’s favourite TV show, but this year it seems that paying attention to the Maltese edition of the contest might give us an insight into Eurovision next year. Cyprus returned to JESC and only a few days later their broadcaster also confirmed their return in Austria next year.
Admittedly, that may just be coincidence. But it seems a lot of countries are deciding on taking part in both around this time of year, and countries normally confirm later for the junior contest. We also saw the debut of Italy and Montenegro in 2014, and RTCG in Montenegro announced they planned to take part in 2015 a few days later, much like their Cypriot counterparts.
So why is this in any way relevant? Yesterday’s news suggests that should the trend continue there will be some exciting news for 2015. Serbia and Bulgaria have both announced their return to the Junior contest this year, despite not taking part in the senior contest in Copenhagen this year. Does this mean that broadcasters can finally afford to take part in not just one but both?
Sadly, this may also mean we can discount Czech Republic from 2015, with their broadcaster deciding not to enter the Junior counterpart this year. But time will tell, of course!
We will have to see what happens in the next few days, but it stands to reason that the surprising success the EBU is having with this year’s Junior contest may also be spilling over into Eurovision 2015. Will we see Serbian and Bulgarian confirmation for 2015 in the coming days? And is there anyone else in store for a Eurovision return?
Who do you want to see returning to the contest next year? Do you think broadcasters joining JESC is a good sign? Join the discussion below!
