As the Junior Eurovision Song Contest approaches, more countries are confirming their participation. However, Greece will not be joining them at the contest in November, ERT has confirmed. They join Croatia, Cyprus, Israel, Latvia, Montenegro and Slovenia in confirming that they will not be participating.
Maria Koufopoulou, The Director of Public Relations of the Hellenic Radio and Television (ERT), has confirmed to Eurofestivales that Greece will not be participating in this year’s Junior Eurovision.
Although Koufopoulou did not give a reason for this decision, this comes as little surprise. Greece withdrew from the contest ten years ago in light of cuts to public broadcasting during the financial crisis. Their most recent participation was back in 2008, when Niki Yannouchou placed 14th with “Kapoia nychta”.
Junior Eurovision 2019
This year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in the Gliwice Arena, Poland, on the 24th November 2019. It marks the first time Poland will host a music-based Eurovision event! Last year, Roksana Węgiel brought Poland its first Eurovision-adjacent win with “Anyone I Want To Be”.
So far, the following countries have confirmed their intention to participate:
- Albania
- Armenia
- Australia
- France
- Georgia
- Ireland
- Kazakhstan*
- Malta
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Serbia
- Ukraine
- Wales
* Although Kazakhstan have stated their intention to participate in the contest, they must be invited by the host broadcaster in order to participate.
Greece at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Greece was one of the sixteen countries to debut at the inaugural Junior Eurovision back in 2003, hosted in Copenhagen. They debuted with Nicolas Ganopoulos’ “Fili gia panda”, which placed eighth. They participated in six contests overall before withdrawing.
Greece’s best entry in the contest was a sixth place finish back in 2005 with Alexandros and Kalli’s “Tora einai i seira mas”. Greece’s worst result was in 2007, when Made In Greece’s came last out of 17 acts with “Kapou berdeftika”.
It first emerged that Greece were considering withdrawing back in October 2008, citing low ratings and the objection of using children for such a contest. Coinciding with the Greek financial crisis, ERT officially withdrew from Junior Eurovision in April 2009.
Are you disappointed that Greece will not be returning this year? 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!
