It was hoped that many of the withdrawing broadcasters would change their mind upon news of a new format for Junior Eurovision 2020. However, one particular broadcaster, Ireland’s TG4, has said they were already fully aware of the plans.
This news comes after news of Ireland’s withdrawal came in August. It is in contrast to Australian broadcaster SBS, who stated in a response to a query by the ESCXTRA team that the ‘new format had not been confirmed or communicated‘.
Cautious solution
Responding to a question posed by Eurowizja.org, a representative for TG4, Laura Ní Cheallaigh, gave this response:
TG4 was aware that the EBU was preparing backup plans in case Junior Eurovision in Poland would not be possible live. However, in July we had to decide everything because of the production targets here and our selection process. We have decided that the most cautious solution would be to withdraw this year. This decision is final, but we hope Ireland will be back in 2021.
Representative for TG4, Laura Ní Cheallaigh
Ireland’s Junior Eurovision history
In 2015 Ireland made their debut in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, but had originally interested in participation in 2004 under the national broadcaster RTÉ, this later fell through. The 2015 debut was made possible under Irish-language broadcaster TG4 after gaining funding from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).
The Irish acts for Junior Eurovision have so far been selected through a national final titled ‘Junior Eurovision Éire’. Their best result came in 2016, when Zena Donnelly came 10th with her song ‘Bríce ar Bhríce’. The latest participation last year in Poland brought a respectable 12th place thanks to Anna Kearney and her song ‘Banshee’.
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