Built in 1586 by Grandmaster Hughues Loubenx de Verdalle, the Verdala Palace, set overlooking the Buskett Gardens, is the official summer residence of the President of Malta. Normally closed to the public, it will open its gates this Sunday (9 November) for the 16 delegations and press of Junior Eurovision 2014.
The opening ceremony will be a full read carpet occasion for all of the contestants. Broadcast live on TVM and here on JuniorEurovision.tv, each contestant will be interviewed on the red carpet, before being greeted by Executive Supervisor Vladislav Yakovlev, and Executive Producer Anton Attard on their way in to the palace. This will be followed by the Allocation Draw – where Malta will pick their position at random, positions 1 and 16 will be drawn out at random, and then each contestant from the remaining countries will draw their position in the first or second half of the running order.
The host of the opening ceremony will be Gianni Zammit, who has been involved in television industry since 1997 and has hosted and co-produced various programmes on national television in Malta. Apart from also hosting radio shows, he has also been involved in the entertainment industry for a good number of years. Gianni previously hosted the Malta Eurovision Song Contest in 2003, and took part with his band in 2000, 2012, and 2013.
The live broadcast of the opening ceremony will begin at 18:40, and last for a little over one hour.
For Press
Press with accreditations to Junior Eurovision 2014 are welcome to attend the opening ceremony, however access will be with accreditation badges only.
If you are arriving in Malta on Sunday, and may not have time to collect your badge before heading to Rabat, please email [email protected] stating your intention to attend the opening ceremony. Provisions will be made for you to still attend, provided confirmations are received by Friday evening.
Shuttle buses will run from the Grand Excelsior Hotel in Floriana, close to the Valletta bus station. Accreditation badges also allow free use of local buses.
