We are less than three months away from the grand final of the 2018 Junior Eurovision Song Contest and the twenty participating broadcasters are now firming up their plans for the competition. In a radio interview with Dublin South FM, the format of this year’s Irish Junior Eurovision selection has been confirmed!
32 acts… one winner!
According to Orla McCarthy of Adare Production, the 2018 edition of Junior Eurovision Éire will follow the same process as the three prior editions of the national selection.
On August 23rd, the deadline passed for interested artists to apply. A selection of applicants will be invited to the second round of auditions in which they will perform the song they want to represent Ireland with. After this, 32 artists will be selected to take part in the four Junior Eurovision Éire semi-finals!
Pre-recorded in October
As has been the case since the first edition in 2015, the four semi-finals, containing eight entries in each, and the grand final will be pre-recorded. This year, these will be recorded in October. One artist will qualify from each semi-final, and there is the option for the jury to choose a wildcard to take part in the final also.
The shows will then air weekly on TG4 in late October and November. If TG4 follow last year’s schedule, the Irish entry will be unveiled a week before the contest on November 18th. Nevertheless, this has yet to be confirmed.
Aiming for the top ten
Last year, Muireann McDonnell won Junior Eurovision Éire with Súile glasa, a song co-written by herself. In the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Tbilisi, Muireann finished in 15th place with 54 points. Ireland’s best finish in the contest came in 2016 when Zena Donnelly placed 10th with Bríce ar bhríce, scoring 122 points.
Will you be tuning in to this year’s edition of Junior Eurovision Éire? Let us know in the comments below!
