Behind the scenes with the Junior Eurovision crew

A now familiar face at Junior Eurovision is Gordon Bonello who is the Creative Director of the 2017 edition. Gordon, who is originally from Malta, has worked on several previous editions of the competition. "The nice thing about the event is working in an international team coming from 11 different countries, that is something very special indeed," he said. Gordon is responsible for the running order of the show as well as the sound and creative aspects of the programme. "I enjoy seeing the kids happy, that's the best part of my job," he added.

Charles Ahar, is the steadycam operator for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The job is physically demanding and includes a lot of running both on stage and off. "The most difficult part of the job is the entry and exit of the shot. You need to be precise, get on and off the stage with perfect timing," he explained.

Mattias Carlsson is the Viewing Room Director. Originally from Sweden, he has worked on the Eurovision Song Contest. Delegations provide feedback to Mattias and request changes to lighting, sound and camera angles. "The most difficult thing about my job is trying to please all the delegations, all of the time. Sometimes they ask for things which are technically impossible to do. I love my job though and it's wonderful to work with so many amazing people from around the world," said Mattias. 

The 2018 Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Minsk, Belarus next year!