The Eurovision Song Contest may have only concluded last month, but we still have Junior Eurovision to look forward to! Unfortunately for fans hoping to see Cyprus return, CyBC will not be participating this year. This is the second consecutive non-participation since their last place finish back in 2017. They join Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia in confirming that they will not be participating.
As this year’s Junior Eurovision approaches, we have yet another confirmation of non-participation. This time, it comes from the contest’s most recent withdrawal – Cyprus.
Speaking to Eurofestivales, Evi Papamichael, the Head of Delegation for Cyprus confirmed their non-participation. Rather than the standard budgetary reasons for not participation, Papamichael cited a “management decision” for this.
Cyprus withdrew from Junior Eurovision following the 2017 contest, this time without announcing a reason. However, this was possibly linked to their last-place finish in Tbilisi.
Junior Eurovision 2019
This year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Gliwice Arena, Poland, on the 24th November 2019. It marks the first time Poland will host a music-based Eurovision event!
At present, the following countries have confirmed their participation:
- Albania
- Australia
- France
- Georgia
- Ireland
- Kazakhstan
- Malta
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Wales
Cyprus at the Junior Eurovision
The island nation’s trajectory very much mirrors their performance at the main contest, prior to the last two years. Cyprus debuted at the inaugural contest in 2013 in Copenhagen with Theodora Rafti’s “Mia efhi”, placing 14th. In 2005 they were forced to withdraw due to plagiarism allegations around Rena Kiriakidi’s “Tsirko”.
In May 2007, CyBC hosted the 2008 contest in Limassol, making it the first and only Eurovision-adjectent contest to be hosted in Cyprus to date. The country’s best result is eighth place, which they have achieved twice. First in 2004 with Marios Tofi’s “Oneira” and in 2006 with Louis Panagiotou and Christina Christofi’s “Agoria koritsia”.
In 2017, Nicole Nicolaou performed the song “I Wanna Be A Star” in Tbilisi, placing 16th in a field of 16. The following year, on 11 June 2018, CyBC announced that they would not participate in the contest that year.
Are you disappointed Cyprus is not returning? Do you think they will ever return to Junior Eurovision? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates!
