On June 19, 2019, the Head of Delegation at Česká Televize, Jan Maxa, ruled out a Czech debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Gliwice-Silesia, Poland, this year.
In a formal statement, Maxa claimed that the broadcaster wanted to “focus [their] energy and resources on the Eurovision Song Contest.”
Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest
The Czech Republic debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 with the song “Malá Duma” by Kálas, coming last in the semifinal with 1 point. They’ve competed a total of 8 times in the contest, first qualifying for the final in 2016 with “I Stand” by Gabriela Gunčíková, finishing 25th.
Their best placing came in 2018 with “Lie to Me” by Mikolas Josef, placing 6th overall. Their last entry was “Friend of a Friend” by Lake Malawi in 2019, finishing 11th in the final.
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019
This year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in the Gliwice Arena, in Gliwice-Silesia, Poland, on November 24th, 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 in the 2019 contest:
- 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.
Are you disappointed to see the Czech Republic miss out on JESC 2019? Should they participate in 2020? 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!
