Today: First stage impressions of Ukraine, the Netherlands and Spain

You’ll get special backstage material from their recordings for the show and throughout the day you’ll also get a closer look at the staging, clothing and performances of our Junior Eurovision stars! We also met this year’s participants (digitally) for an interview so that you can get to know them even better! The order of publication will be as followed:

08:00 CET Oleksandr Balabanov from Ukraine
08:30 CET Exclusive interview with Oleksandr
12:00 CET UNITY from The Netherlands
12:30 CET Exclusive interview with UNITY
15:00 CET Soleá from Spain
15:30 CET Exclusive interview with Soleá
16:00 CET Opening Ceremony Live from Warsaw

Oleksandr Balabanov has recorded his performance of 'Vidkryvai' (Open Up)
Oleksandr Balabanov and his team travelled from Kyiv to Warsaw earlier this month where he recorded his performance for the show this Sunday. Oleksandr entered the stage dressed in a cream coloured suit, while his team was wearing Vidkryvai merchandise and ‘Open Up’ face masks (of which we are sure they can be reused in Rotterdam for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021). Check out the backstage photos of Oleksandr’s recording here:

On Sunday you’ll see Oleksandr on stage by himself. He is holding a light ball which is guaranteed to get some epic camera shots. About his performance Oleksandr said: “I don’t really dance on the stage. But I do use some emotional movements that come immediately to my mind when I start singing. So I just try to bounce a bit to keep it groovy and that is it”. Want to see a preview of performance? Make sure to watch Oleksandr’s backstage video!

The best friends from UNITY are ready to show you some moves!
UNITY recorded their performance in a studio near Amsterdam. All four UNITY girls are from different parts of The Netherlands so they have really enjoyed being able to come together for the recording, as well as for the many other videos they made for the Junior Songfestival YouTube channel. When they won the national final, unfortunately one of their members, Demi, was not present due to a positive Covid-19 test. However, for their performance on Sunday, all 4 girls will be back together, so get ready for a very energetic performance!

In the backstage video of their performance, Naomi, Maud, Jayda and Demi show you some of the steps in their dance. If it all goes a bit too fast, we wrote down the instructions for you right here:

1. Swing your left arm in front of your chest and then move it above your head. At the same time you are walking on the spot.
2. Put your left elbow on the shoulder of the person left of you while turning your head to the left. Afterwards, you turn your head back.
3. Tap the ground three times with your right foot.
4. Repeat step 1
5. Put your left foot behind you and bounce on your chest with your left hand.

Soleá brings dancers onto the stage!
After Spain’s successful comeback at Junior Eurovision last year with Melani Garcia it’s now Soleá’s turn to win Europe’s hearts with her upbeat song Palante. While recording her performance, her family visited to support her. When the performance was finished everyone who had worked on the performance was visibly very excited about the result. We can’t wait to see it on Sunday!

The 9-year-old singer from Sevilla will not only put on an amazing dance show but she will also show you her flamenco vibe. Expect a colourful performance and get ready to jump off your couch and dance along with her!