France will return to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Broadcaster France 2 have announced that on their Twitter channel. It will be France’s second participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest only.
From 2004 to 2018
Back in 2004, France made their début in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Back then, France Télévisions stuck to one participation only. Their claim was that too much Eurovision would kill Eurovision. The broadcaster saw no motivation to take part in yet another contest. Nonetheless, Thomas Pontier and his “Si On Voulait Bien” finished in sixth in their only participation.
In 2004, France 3 were the broadcaster responsible for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in France. This year, that duty will be in the hands of France 2. They are also responsible for the Eurovision Song Contest itself.
The news comes as a little surprise. France are the second country announcing a surprise participation in the Junior contest this week. Earlier, we also had Wales announcing their participation. France followed this evening by announcing the news on Twitter. You can see their tweet below:
🔴 La #France participera au Concours #JuniorEurovision dès cette année ! La compétition sera diffusée sur @France2tv le 25 novembre 2018 ! #EurovisionJunior pic.twitter.com/ovwL8QZ46Y
— Eurovision France 🇫🇷 (@EurovisionF2) May 12, 2018
Ten countries so far
So far, ten countries have announced their participation in Minsk. The Belarussian capital has been chosen as the host city for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest this year. The show will be taking place on 25th November this year. The country defending the title this year is Russia. Polina Bogusevich won the contest last year in Tbilisi. They will now once again be present at the Junior contest.
Alongside Wales and France, eight other countries confirmed their participation. All of those took part last year as well. You can see the list of participating countries at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 below:
- Armenia
- Belarus (Host country)
- France
- Georgia
- Ireland
- The Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Wales
What do you think about France’s decision to return to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018? Let us know below in a comment or on social media!
