In a year where JESC participating nations are (understandably) pulling out seemingly en masse, Georgia is one country that continues to push ahead with their JESC participation. The three-time winner is set to start their artist selection process, Ranina, on September 11th.
Ranina is comprised of a total of 10 shows. First, all ten acts will participate in eight heats, split into four separate themes. The top five acts after the first eight shows will move on to a semifinal show. After the semi, the top three acts will compete in a final episode, in which the winner will be Georgia’s official JESC singer for Warsaw 2020.
Ranina has been used to select Georgia’s JESC artist since 2018, selecting Tamar Edilashvili in 2018 and Giorgi Rostiashvili in 2019.
The ten contestants for Ranina this year are:
- Cecil Thurmanidze
- Veronica Shamugia
- Sandra Gadelia
- Rati Gelovan
- Gio Gogiashvili
- Marita Khvedelidze
- Nikoloz Reddit
- Shio Kavsadze
- Nia Khinchikashvili
- Lela Kveniashvili
Junior Eurovision 2020
The 2020 Junior Eurovision Song Contest is expected to take place on November 29th, in a studio in Warsaw, Poland. The slogan for this year’s contest is #MoveTheWorld. As of now, 13 countries are set to participate this year:
- Belarus
- France
- Georgia
- Germany (debuting!)
- Kazakhstan
- Malta
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Serbia
- Spain
- The Netherlands
- Ukraine
Georgia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Georgia debuted in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2007, the same year that they debuted in the main contest. They sent Mariam Romelashvili with the song “Odelia Ranuni,” placing 4th out of 17.
The country is one of the most successful in JESC history, being the only country to win three times. In 2008, Bzikebi won for Georgia with the song “Bzz..” In 2011, Candy won for Georgia with the song “Candy Music.” In 2016, Mariam Mamadashvili won with the song “Mzeo.”
In 2019, Georgia sent Giorgi Rostiashvili to Gliwice to compete in JESC with the song “We Need Love.” At the end of the night, Georgia only placed 14th out of 19 countries, their lowest placement as of writing this article.
