The Eurovision Song Contest may have only concluded last month, but we still have Junior Eurovision to look forward to! Following their return to the Junior contest last year, KAN will not be participating in this year’s Junior Eurovision. They join Croatia, Cyprus, Montenegro and Slovenia in confirming that they will not be participating.
Israel has a rather short history at the Junior Eurovision. In fact, they have only appeared at the contest three times – in Amsterdam (2012), Malta (2016) and Minsk (2018). Following Israel’s win in Lisbon last year, KAN decided to return to the junior contest, prompting the EBU to lift the 18-country limit.
Late last year, we reported that KAN were due to discuss their future at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Now, the press department at KAN have confirmed to Eurofestivales that they will not be appearing at the 2019 contest in Gliwice, Poland. They did not disclose the reason behind this. However, they will be broadcasting the contest this year despite not participating.
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 intention to participate:
- Albania
- Australia
- France
- Georgia
- Ireland
- Kazakhstan
- Malta
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Wales
Israel at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Israel debuted at the 2012 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which was hosted in Amsterdam, Netherlands. They were presented by Kids.il, who placed 8th with “Let the Music Win”. This remains their best result to date. They withdrew from the contest between 2013 and 2015, only to return for the 2016 in Valetta. Previously, their participation was overseen by the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), until KAN took over in 2018.
However, in 2018, as KAN was the host broadcaster of the Eurovision Song Contest, they decided to participate in last year’s contest. Their first participation since 2016; the EBU had to lift the countries limit in order to allow them to join. At the contest, hosted in Minsk, Noam Dadon placed 14th with “Children Like These”.
Are you disappointed Israel has withdrawn? Would you like to see them return in the future? 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!
