International song competition for youth
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 19th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest was held on 19 December 2021 at La Seine Musicale in Paris, France, following the country's victory at the 2020 contest with the song "J'imagine", performed by Valentina. This was the first time the contest was held in France, as well as the first Eurovision event to be held in the country since Eurovision Young Dancers 1999 in Lyon and the first to be held in Paris since Eurovision Young Dancers 1989.
Nineteen countries participated in the contest, with Albania, Armenia, Ireland, Italy, North Macedonia and Portugal all returning after their absence from the previous edition. Azerbaijan and Bulgaria returned after two and four-year absences respectively. For the first time in 19 editions, Belarus did not participate, as the country's broadcaster is under a three-year suspension from the EBU, making the Netherlands the only country to have participated every year since the contest's first edition in 2003.
Armenia's Maléna was the winner of the contest with the song "". This was Armenia's second victory in the contest, following their win in 2010. Poland, host country France, Georgia and Azerbaijan completed the top five, with this being the highest placement for Azerbaijan to date. Meanwhile, the Netherlands finished in last place for the first time in the contest's history. Ireland and Spain also achieved their lowest placings to date, the latter finishing outside the top five for the first time.
Location.
On 9 December 2020, it was announced that the contest would take place in France in 2021. It was hosted in Paris. The contest was held on 19December, which is the latest date in the year for the contest ever; the last instance before 2021 where the contest was held in December was in 2012. The selected venue for the contest was the 6,000-seat La Seine Musicale, which serves as concert hall and performing arts center. The arena is located on Île Seguin in Boulogne-Billancourt, a commune in the western suburbs of Paris.
Bidding phase and host city selection.
Unlike Eurovision's adult version, the winning country originally did not receive the automatic rights to host the next contest. However, for the contests since 2011 (with the exceptions of 2012 and 2018), the winning country has had first refusal on hosting the next competition. Italy used this clause in 2015 to decline to host the contest after their victory in 2014. On 15 October 2017, the EBU announced a return to the original system in 2018, to help provide broadcasters with a greater amount of time to prepare, and to ensure the continuation of the contest into the future.
On 9 December 2020, it was confirmed by the EBU that France, having won the 2020 contest, would host the 2021 contest. The French Head of Delegation Alexandra Redde-Amiel had previously stated that was keen to host the contest. Spanish broadcaster (RTVE) had also expressed an interest in hosting the contest if they had won the 2020 contest.
On 20 May 2021, during a press conference held by France Télévisions and the EBU, it was confirmed that the contest would be held in La Seine Musicale in Paris. It was the second consecutive time the contest was held in a capital city. reported in September 2021 that had looked into the possibility of organising the contest in Cannes or Nice before settling on the metropolitan area of Paris as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic, and that Paris La Défense Arena was considered a potential venue in a 8,000-seat configuration before La Seine Musicale was named the chosen venue.
Participating countries.
On 2 September 2021, 19 countries were confirmed to be participating in the contest, equaling the number of participating countries from 2019. Albania, Armenia, Ireland, Italy, North Macedonia and Portugal all returned after a one-year absence, while Azerbaijan and Bulgaria returned after two and four-year absences respectively. For the first time since the contest's inception, Belarus did not participate, as the country's broadcaster BTRC is in the midst of a three-year suspension from the EBU. This made it the first edition since the 2004 contest to not see any of the previous year's participating countries withdraw voluntarily, as well as the first since 2018 to see the number of participating countries actively increase from the year before. 
Prior to the event, a digital compilation album featuring all the songs from the 2021 contest was put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by Universal Music Group on 3 December 2021.
Returning artists.
The Russian representative, Tanya Mezhentseva, has participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest before; she represented Russia in 2019 along with Denberel Oorzhak, finishing in 13th place with the song "A Time for Us". This is only the third case (all of whom have been from Russia) in the competition to feature a returning artist from previous editions after Katya Ryabova (Russia 2009 and 2011) and Lerika (Moldova 2011 and Russia 2012). The Armenian representative, Maléna, was set to participate in 2020 with the song "Why" before Armenia withdrew from the competition.
Production.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several measures were taken by the organisers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the spread of the Omicron variant. Although the live show was held with a full capacity audience wearing masks, the jury show, which took place on 18 December, was held without an audience. The opening ceremony, which took place on 13 December, was held without delegations attending.
In preparation for the event, the EBU had been considering three scenarios in which the contest could be held, which were announced on 24 August. The three scenarios include:
Format.
Presenters.
Carla, Élodie Gossuin and Olivier Minne were the presenters of the show. Carla was also the French entrant in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The hosts were revealed during a press conference on 17 November.
Visual design.
The slogan for the contest, "Imagine", was revealed on 20 May 2021 during a press conference prior to the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The slogan was chosen as a reference to the previous year's winning song "J'imagine", as well as a way to encourage children to be creative and pursue their dreams.
The official logo and theme artwork for the contest was unveiled on 24 August 2021. The artwork was inspired by three themes: imagination, Christmas and the Eiffel Tower.
Postcards.
Contestants were featured in "postcard" video introductions, set in a different location in Paris, or surrounding areas in France. Each began with a short clip of the upcoming performer flying over the skies of Paris via green screen, followed by an extended sequence involving dance troupes dancing in a specific Parisian location. Following that, a stream of light in the colours of the upcoming country's flag entered La Seine Musicale, and the upcoming participant's face was projected onto the exterior of the venue, signalling the beginning of the upcoming performance.
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Contest overview.
The event took place on 19 December 2021 at 16:00 CET. Nineteen countries participated, with the running order published on 13 December 2021. All the countries competing were eligible to vote with the jury vote, as well as participating and non-participating countries under an aggregated international online vote, eligible to vote. Armenia won with 224 points, also winning the online vote. Poland came second with 218 points, with France (who won the jury vote), Georgia, and Azerbaijan completing the top five. Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands occupied the bottom five positions.
The opening of the show featured the traditional flag parade, accompanied by French DJ duo Ofenbach performing a medley of their discography. During the interval, Valentina performed a Christmas version of her winning song "". All participants then joined on stage for a rendition of the common song, "Imagine". Barbara Pravi closed the interval with a performance of her song "", with which she represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.
Spokespersons.
The 12 points from the juries were announced live by a spokesperson from each country. Countries that did not provide their own spokesperson had their 12 points announced by a local student from Paris.
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Detailed voting results.
Below is a summary of all 12 points received from each country's professional juries.
Online voting.
According to the EBU, a total of over 4.3 million valid votes were received during the voting windows.
Other countries.
For a country to be eligible for potential participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, it needs to be an active member of the EBU.
Broadcasts.
Some countries rebroadcast the event several days later in late 2021 or early 2022 like Albania and Portugal during Christmas.
Viewing figures.
According to the EBU, 33 million people watched the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021, with a viewing share of 15.6%. France had record high viewing figures for the contest, while the Netherlands had record low viewing figures. For the following countries, viewership information is known:
References.
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