The national broadcaster of Azerbaijan, Ictimai has announced that it will be withdrawing from the upcoming Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 taking place in Malta on October 24.
🇦🇿 Ictimai will not participate in Junor Eurovision 2026
As broadcasters confirm their plans for Junior Eurovision 2026, one broadcaster will not be present in Malta later this year. Ictimai the national broadcaster of Azerbaijan has confirmed in a statement seen by ESC Plus its withdrawal from JESC 2026 after making a brief comeback for the 2025 edition of the junior competition.
“We would like to inform you that Azerbaijan will not participate in this year’s Junior Eurovision in Malta.
We thank you for your continued interest and coverage, and we wish the participating delegations a successful contest.”
Turab Teymurov, (Head of Press, Ictimai)
Azerbaijan in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Back in 2012 Azerbaijan made their Junior Eurovision debut in Amsterdam with Omar & Suada holding the honour of being Azerbaijan’s first representative, with the entry ‘Girls and Boys (Dünya Sənindir)’. During the final, they placed 11th overall in the competition with 49 points. After one more participation the following year, Azerbaijan took a break from the contest until returning in 2018. A disappointing 16th place coincided with another departure until 2021.
In 2021 the Caucasus nation selected Sona Azizova with, ‘One of Those Days’ for the Paris final. During the contest they placed 5th overall with 151 points. To date this remains Azerbaijan’s best ever result in the junior contest. After another period of absence, Azerbaijan returned last year with Yağmur. At the Tbilisi contest she placed 15th and scored 66 points with ‘Miau miau’.
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