21st Junior Eurovision Song Contest edition
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 21st edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster France Télévisions. The contest took place on 26 November 2023 at the Palais Nikaïa in Nice, France, following the country's victory at the 2022 contest with the song "" by Lissandro. This was the second time that France hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the first being in Paris in 2021.
Sixteen countries participated in the contest, with Estonia participating for the first time and Germany returning after its absence from the previous edition, while Kazakhstan and Serbia did not take part. This was also the first and so far only time that all members of the "Big Five" from the Eurovision Song Contest took part in the junior contest together.
France's Zoé Clauzure was the winner of the contest with the song ", making France the second country to win the Junior Eurovision Song Contest twice in a row, after Poland. The result also marked France equaling Georgia's record for the most Junior Eurovision victories. Spain, Armenia, the United Kingdom and Ukraine completed the top five. Further down the table, Germany achieved its best result to date, Georgia tied its worst placement, and Ireland placed last for the first time.
Location.
The contest took place at the Palais Nikaïa in Nice, a multi-purpose concert hall, following the country's victory at the 2022 contest with the song " by Lissandro. This was the second time that France hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the first being in Paris in 2021.
Bidding phase and host city selection.
Unlike in the Eurovision Song Contest, the winning country did not receive the automatic rights to host the next contest. However, since 2019, each contest has been hosted by the previous year's winning country, and since 2011 (with the exceptions of 2012 and 2018), the winning country has had the right of first refusal on hosting the following competition. In 2015, Italy was given the option to host but ultimately opted out of it.
Following France's win in 2022, French head of delegation Alexandra Redde-Amiel and Director General of France Télévisions Delphine Ernotte revealed that the country wishes to host the contest in 2023. On 3 April 2023, the EBU and France Télévisions announced that the contest would be held in Nice.
Participating countries.
On 29 August 2023, the EBU announced that 16 countries would participate in the contest, with Estonia making its debut and Germany returning after a one-year absence, while Kazakhstan and Serbia would not take part after participating in the previous contest. Returning artists included Sophie Lennon, who represented Ireland in 2022, and joined Ireland's Jessica McKean on stage.
Prior to the contest, a digital compilation album featuring all the songs from the 2023 contest was put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by Universal Music on 3 November 2023.
Production.
A new child safety protocol focused on the well-being of the participants was implemented for the 2023 contest. According to the Spanish head of delegation Ana María Bordas, it sought to offer transparency in the competition, and to bring especially Nordic countries, who were critical of child safety in the contest, back to the event.
Visual design.
The 2023 contest was the first edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest to incorporate the modern Eurovision heart, which has been used in the adult contest since 2015, in its generic logo. The update was revealed during the host city announcement on 3 April 2023.
During a European Broadcasting Union press conference on 10 May 2023 in Liverpool, where the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was taking place, Alexandra Redde-Amiel, head of the French Eurovision delegation, announced the slogan of the contest, "Heroes". The accompanying theme art was unveiled on 29 August, which featured a street art look based on splashes of paint, chalk, powder and fireworks that "brings modernity and speaks to all generations". The stage design, unveiled on 27 September, featured a 12-metre high LED screen in the shape of wings, "reflecting the desire to fly away, create and imagine".
Presenters.
Laury Thilleman, Olivier Minne, and Ophenya were the presenters of the show; Minne had previously co-hosted the 2021 contest. Ophenya, a French influencer, additionally acted as a "digital ambassador", creating content for Junior Eurovision's social media channels.
The opening ceremony event, which was held on 20 November at Hotel Negresco, was hosted by Carla Lazzari, France's representative at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019, and Manon Théodet. During the ceremony, each delegation was welcomed by Laura Tenoudji and Ophenya, and the draw was carried out, according to tradition. In this ceremony, the draw took place which determined the position of the host country (France) and which country will open and close the show. The ceremony also saw French Junior Eurovision representatives, since the country's return to the contest in 2018, perform excerpts of their entries.
Postcards.
Contestants were featured in "postcard" video introductions, set in different locations in Nice. Each postcard began with a child participating in an activity of their choice and facing a setback that discourages them, before the upcoming performer, standing on top of a building, empowered them to accomplish their task. At the end of each postcard, the children participating in the aforementioned activity creatively recreated the flag of the upcoming performer's representative country, after which it transitioned to the stage.
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Contest overview.
The event took place on 26 November 2023 at 16:00 CET. Sixteen countries participated, with the running order published on 20 November. 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. France won with 228 points, winning both the jury and online vote. Spain came second with 201 points, with Armenia, the United Kingdom and Ukraine completing the top five. North Macedonia, Portugal, Georgia, Estonia and Ireland occupied the bottom five positions.
The opening of the show featured the traditional flag parade, accompanied by a remix of "Makeba", with all participants performing the common song "Heroes" alongside Florence François and the Shiny Gospel Choir. During the interval, Lissandro performed his winning song ". Amir then performed ", with which he represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, and his new single "". Following a brief appearance by French pianist and TikTok personality Van Toan, former French Junior Eurovision entrants Angelina, Valentina, Enzo and Lissandro closed the interval with "We Are the World", in support of the Non-Violence Project.
During the event, there was a technical problem in which the LED screen abruptly shut off during Portugal's performance; Portugal's Júlia Machado was offered the chance to perform again, but the Portuguese delegation declined it because her vocal performance was not affected. The official upload of the Portuguese entry on YouTube used footage from the previous evening's jury show.
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 student from the International School of Nice. Known spokespersons are as follows:
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Detailed voting results.
12 points.
Below is a summary of all 12 points received from each country's professional juries.
Broadcasts.
All participating broadcasters may choose to have on-site or remote commentators providing insight and voting information to their local audience. The European Broadcasting Union also provided international live streams of the contest through their official YouTube channel with no commentary.
References.
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