Two days after confirming their participation at Junior Eurovision 2022, Ukraine’s national broadcaster UA:PBC announced a national selection to select their act.
UA:PBC stated that up to ten acts will compete in a televised national selection to be held some time in the month of September. Eligible participants – Ukrainian citizens and nationals aged between 9 and 14 by the time of the Junior Eurovision final on December 11, 2022 – can apply on the broadcaster’s website by August 23, 2022.
Ukraine’s Junior Eurovision national selection is usually a highlight on the calendar, with most selections featuring up to a dozen up-and-coming Ukrainian youth acts with songs written and produced by some of Ukraine’s biggest music industry names. Typically, the selection is decided by both a jury vote and an online/televote.
Olena Usenko won Ukraine’s 2021 selection with “Vazhil,” whose lyrics are even more poignant now that we have seen what happened to Ukraine in February 2022 when Russia launched its invasion.
As she told junioreurovision.tv, “fill your life with beautiful moments, be yourself and be conscious of every moment of your life. Time flies, and life is the most important thing that we have. So we must value our life and live it as we believe is right.”
“Vazhil” ended up coming in 6th at Junior Eurovision 2021, which was won by Armenia’s Malena and “Qami Qami.”
Junior Eurovision 2022 will held on December 11, 2022, at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex in Yerevan, Armenia. This is the same venue where Armenia hosted Junior Eurovision 2011, the year after their first victory,
Ukraine has been highly regarded at Junior Eurovision since their debut in 2006, winning once in 2012 with Anastasiya Petryk’s “Nebo” and coming in second on two occasions in 2008 and 2013.
Will #YOU be checking out Ukraine’s national selection for JESC 2022? Are there any past participants who are still eligible that #YOU would like to see try out again? Let us know in the comments below, on our social media, or in our forum.
