In a Nutshell

Junior Eurovision Champions: 

• Copenhagen 2003 - Croatia 🇭🇷 / Dino Jelusić - Ti Si Moja Prva Ljubav

• Lillehammer 2004 - Spain 🇪🇸 / María Isabel - Antes Muerta Que Sencilla

• Hasselt 2005 - Belarus 🇧🇾 / Ksenia Sitnik - My Vmeste

• Bucharest 2006 - Russia 🇷🇺 / Tolmachevy Sisters - Vesenniy Jazz

• Rotterdam 2007 - Belarus 🇧🇾 / Alexey Zhigalkovich - S Druz'yami

• Limassol 2008 - Georgia 🇬🇪 / Bzikebi - Bzz..

• Kyiv 2009 - Netherlands 🇳🇱 / Ralf Mackenbach - Click Clack

• Minsk 2010 - Armenia 🇦🇲 / Vladimir Arzumanyan - Mama

• Yerevan 2011 - Georgia 🇬🇪 / CANDY - Candy Music

• Amsterdam 2012 - Ukraine 🇺🇦 / Anastasiya Petryk - Nebo

• Kyiv 2013 - Malta 🇲🇹 / Gaia Cauchi - The Start

• Marsa 2014 - Italy 🇮🇹 / Vincenzo Cantiello - Tu Primo Grande Amore

• Sofia 2015 - Malta 🇲🇹 / Destiny Chukunyere - Not My Soul

• Valletta 2016 - Georgia 🇬🇪 / Mariam Mamadashvili - Mzeo

• Tbilisi 2017 - Russia 🇷🇺 / Polina Bogusevich - Wings

• Minsk 2018 - Poland 🇵🇱 / Roksana Węgiel - Anyone I Want to Be

• Gliwice 2019 - Poland 🇵🇱 / Viki Gabor - Superhero

• Warsaw 2020 - France 🇫🇷 / Valentina - J'imagine

• Paris 2021 - Armenia 🇦🇲 / Maléna - Qami Qami

• Yerevan 2022 - France 🇫🇷 / Lissandro - Oh Maman!

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest debuted in November 2003 and was based on a Scandinavian song festival for children, the Melodi Grand Prix Nordic.

The first Contest was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, where 16 countries competed and audiences enjoyed interval performances from Sugababes and Busted. 

Croatia's Dino Jelušić won with his song Ti Si Moja Prva Ljubav (You Are My First Love), while Spain and the United Kingdom finished second and third respectively. 

The second Contest took place in Lillehammer, Norway, and from this point on broadcasters were given the opportunity to bid to host the following show. 

Over the years, 40 countries have competed in the Junior Eurovision and 14 countries have hosted the Contest. 

The most successful Junior Eurovision nation is Georgia, winning 3 editions of the Contest.

Winners of Junior Eurovision are often invited to make guest appearances at the Eurovision Song Contest, and some have even gone on to compete once they’re old enough. This includes Malta’s Destiny (Junior champion in 2015 and Eurovision participant in 2020 and 2021) and Russia’s Tolmachevy Sisters (Junior champions in 2006 and Eurovision participants in 2014).

The voting systems have changed over the years but the most recent Contest (Yerevan 2022) used a combination of international juries and online voting.