On the move to Minsk: Junior Eurovision Steering Group meet in Belarus

Last October it was revealed that Junior Eurovision 2018 will be hosted by Belarusian national broadcaster BTRC (Belarusian Television and Radio Company). It will be the 16th edition of the contest and, after 2010, the second to be held in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus.

To ensure the longevity of the Contest and allow more time to prepare the event, the Junior Eurovision Steering Group decided to remove a clause in the Rules that gave the winning broadcaster first refusal to host. EBU Members were given the opportunity to apply to host Junior Eurovision 2018 and the application from Belarus was judged to be the best.

What was discussed at the meeting?

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is organised yearly by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), together with the Host Broadcaster and over a dozen Participating Broadcasters. The Steering Group is the executive committee of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Its purpose is to oversee the organisation and guide the contest on behalf of the Participating Broadcasters.

The venue, proposed dates and theme for Junior Eurovision 2018 were all discussed in the Steering Group meeting in Minsk. More details about the upcoming edition will be released in the coming weeks!

The Steering Group also heard that the 2017 Junior Eurovision Song Contest achieved a total live average audience of 2.6 million viewers across 15 markets - 55% higher than the total average audience normally achieved by the group of broadcasting channels for their benchmark slot (1.7 million viewers).   

Host country Georgia delivered its biggest audience since 2013 and almost three times the average for its broadcast channel in primetime. Poland delivered the strongest audience of all markets for a second year (0.9 million viewers) and more than double the viewers normally achieved on TVP2 in the broadcast slot. The number was down year on year however because the JESC moved from TVP1 owing to a commitment to broadcast a popular ski jumping event. 

The Netherlands delivered the second biggest audience (0.3 million viewers) and the strongest performance against channel average of all markets, bringing almost seven times more viewers to NPO3 than normally achieved in the daytime broadcast slot. Armenia delivered its best audience of the past 5 years and second best audience since hosting contest in 2011. The 2017 audience was more than three times the channel average in primetime.

Read more about what you can expect from Minsk in 2018!