France is hosting Junior Eurovision for the second time in three years. After the 2021 edition, organized at the Seine Musicale in Boulogne-Billancourt, it is at the Palais Nikaia in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) that the musical competition will be held, Sunday afternoon, where the candidates are between 9 and 14 years old. . Here are the main things to know to get the most out of the show.
Where to follow the competition?
You haven’t bought your tickets to experience Junior Eurovision on site, at the Palais Nikaia? There remains the sofa solution: the event will be broadcast live, this Sunday, from 4 p.m., on France 2. The comments will be provided by Stéphane Bern and the singer Carla Lazzari, who participated in the competition in 2019. On stage, they will be Olivier Minne and Laury Thilleman who will be the master of ceremonies and will embody this edition for the entire public – the 2022 edition was followed by more than 30 million people around the world. In the green room, Ophenya, the influencer with 4.8 million followers on TikTok, will come to meet the competing artists while waiting for the results.
Who is favorite?
Sixteen countries are competing – for Estonia, this will be a first. If we are to believe the reactions and predictions of the competition faithful who already have all the songs in mind, we will particularly have to follow the duo from the Netherlands, Sep and Jasmijn, who will sing Holding On To You (“I’m clinging to you”) with a very Eurovisionesque pop tone.
The five Armenians from the group Yan Girls are also worth watching, their Do It My Way (“I do it the way I want”) seems to have taken its inspiration from the popular K-Pop. The British girl band STAND UNIQU3 and its effective sound Back To Life (“Return to Life”) should glean quite a few points. On the ballad side, Tamara Grujeska, for North Macedonia, is the most popular with her Kazi Mi, Kazi Mi Koj (“Tell me, tell me who”).
Does France have its chances?
The answer is yes. Just as last year Lissandro won the competition to everyone’s surprise, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Frenchwoman Zoé Clauzure win in Nice with Heart. She is one of the favorites and her running order (12th out of 16, see box) can work in her favor. If it won the trophy, France would do the double and claim a third victory in the space of four years. Be careful, the odds are not over, but we would nevertheless venture to predict at least a place in the Top 5.
How to vote?
The Junior Eurovision voting system is different from that of Eurovision. A first phase of voting will open this Friday at 8 p.m. and end on Sunday at 3:59 p.m. A second phase will begin on Sunday, just after the sixteen artists have performed on stage, and will last a quarter of an hour. To vote, you will need to go on the competition website. After viewing a summary of the competing songs, you will need to select your three favorites. It will be entirely possible for you to vote for France. It is also possible to vote several times. The points thus awarded by the public will be added on Sunday to those of the juries.
The order of passage
Here is the order in which the artists will perform on Sunday. For clarity, we only mention the countries: Spain, Malta, Ukraine, Ireland, United Kingdom, North Macedonia, Estonia, Armenia, Poland, Georgia, Portugal, France, Albania, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.