Our Opening Ceremony gets all of Yerevan in on the magic!

And who better to say “welcome to Armenia” than the country’s 2011 performer Dalita, who used those exact words when she represented her country on home soil over a decade ago. She, alongside broadcaster Hamlet Arakelyan, had the honor of hosting this year’s glittering gala.

The city of Yerevan turns the annual ceremonial lighting of their city’s largest Christmas tree into a huge public event, and this year was even more spectacular than usual as the sixteen participating acts at this year’s Contest get to experience the moment up close and personal. Republic Square was turned into a glowing winter ice palace, with dancing, singing, and wintertime revelry.

👀 Check out our Photo Gallery from the Red Carpet!  

Following a glamorous red carpet, our artists made their way to the National Gallery where a random draw selected which of our singers will open and close the show (the Netherlands and Ukraine, respectively), as well as the running order position of host nation Armenia (15th). 

In honor of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest’s twentieth anniversary, we also saw performances from a number of champions from years past who we very well might see popping up again later on this week! The audience loved them all, but the local crowd of course went wild for hometown hero Maléna, whose success last year with Qami Qami brought us all here to Armenia. We also got an appearance from Eurovision 2014 alum Aram Mp3, whose song Not Alone came in 4th place in Copenhagen that year.

👀 Check out our Photo Gallery of performances from Junior Eurovision Legends!  

And if you missed this year's Opening Ceremony (or if you were here in Yerevan and wanted to check if you can find yourself in the crowd), you can always re-live the moment whenever you like.

There's more fun and magic to come all this week, so be sure to stay tuned!

🗳 Find Out: How to Vote in Junior Eurovision 2022

🗳 Find Out: How to Vote in Junior Eurovision 2022
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