With Covid-19 restrictions still very much in place in Australia, broadcaster SBS issued a statement regarding Junior Eurovision 2021. Now, fellow broadcaster ABC have confirmed that they will not be participating in Junior Eurovision 2021. Whether Australia will take part in Paris this December now depends on SBS, who oversaw the country’s participation between 2015 and 2016.
Although SBS have overseen Australia’s Eurovision participation since their 2015 debut, ABC have overseen the country’s Junior Eurovision participation since 2017.
The latter broadcaster has now confirmed to Eurofestivales that they will not be overseeing Australia’s Junior Eurovision 2021 participation. Meanwhile, SBS issued a statement two weeks ago, which may give a glimmer of hope for fans hoping to see Australia back at the Junior contest.
SBS is always exploring all possible ways to bring more Eurovision to the Australian public. At the moment we cannot tell more.
Response from SBS regarding Junior Eurovision 2021
This news comes as the EBU detailed the scenarios they’re currently planning for in the process of organising the Junior contest, which would permit Australia to compete with a live-on-tape as they did in Rotterdam.
Junior Eurovision 2021 so far
Only days after Valentina’s win, the EBU were quick to confirm that we will be travelling to France for the 18th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The contest will take place on December 19th at La Seine Musicale. The slogan of the contest will be Imagine, and the logo was unveiled in August.
At this point, fifteen countries have confirmed to participate in the JESC edition of 2021.
- Albania
- Azerbaijan
- Ireland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Malta
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Serbia
- Spain
- Ukraine
It’s still early, so we expect more countries to participate. Stay tuned for more updates!
Would you like to see Australia return to the Junior contest? 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! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 national final season!