For the first time ever, Spain will be hosting the Junior Eurovision Song Contest! The host city has yet to be announced.
Spain placed second in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest last year in Nice, France with Sandra Valero’s “Loviu”. Host country France won the contest with Zoë Clauzure’s “Coeur”. In Junior Eurovision, the winning country is not automatically the host country the following year. They do get the first offer, but can always refuse. In this case, after France’s recent success in Junior Eurovision and hosting the contest in 2021 (Paris) and 2023 (Nice), France Télévisions decided to hand over the hosting duties to Spain.
Spain has won Junior Eurovision once, in 2004, but did not host the following year. The contest instead took place in Hasselt, Belgium, following a bidding process among several participating countries. Spain will finally get the honour twenty years later! Executive Supervisor Martin Österdahl is looking forward to it:
“Twenty years after their Junior Eurovision Song Contest win, we’re thrilled to finally bring the Contest to Spain. We’re grateful to RTVE for accepting to host the 22nd edition of the competition which gives young artists from across Europe an incredible platform to showcase their talent. We’re very much looking forward to the fiesta that awaits in Spain later this year!”
Spain’s Head of Delegation for Junior Eurovision, Ana María Bordas, is excited to finally bring the contest to her country:
“TVE welcomes with great enthusiasm EBU’s invitation for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 to be held in Spain. For RTVE, hosting the next JESC is another step in the effort that the public broadcaster has made in recent years to promote Eurovision in Spain and give more relevance to our music. From now on, RTVE will work closely with the EBU and the Steering Group to organize the best JESC possible. We will employ our best creative, technical and human resources to offer a festival designed for young artists in a festive and safe environment. We are sure that the Spanish public will also receive this announcement with great enthusiasm and will welcome the Eurovision community with open arms.”
While we now know that the Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Spain this year, we do not know yet in which city, and which dates. That information will be announced at a later moment.
Are you looking forward to the first Junior Eurovision in Spain? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on X/Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram, @escxtra on TikTok and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite Eurovision acts, and on YouTube for reactions and exclusive interviews.
