“I was born on February 12 and my room number at the hotel is 312. It’s definitely a sign. » A sign that France will win the Junior Eurovision contest for the second year in a row, after Lissandro’s victory in 2022? Sunday, on the stage of the Palais Nikaïa, and live on France 2, Zoé Clauzure will in any case perform in “a really good place”, the twelfth, as fate decided on Monday evening, during the opening ceremony of the event organized in Nice this year.
The 13-year-old French girl will face fifteen other competitors from the four corners of Europe. It is the Spanish candidate, who will open the competition, and the duo from the Netherlands, who will come last.
“We send each other lots of love all the time”
Zoé Clauzure, seen in season 7 of “The Voice Kids”, in 2020, will defend her chances and that of France for the title Heart, an “anthem” dedicated to victims of school bullying. Herself concerned, as she confided it to Faustine Bollaert on France 2, the teenager in any case found a much friendlier climate behind the scenes of the competition, with the other junior artists aged 9 to 14.
“The atmosphere is incredible. We are all very united. Really. We send each other lots of love all the time, we support each other. We make little signs to each other while everyone sings,” she whispered to 20 minutes Monday evening at the Négresco Hotel, where all the delegations met.
Rehearsals and interviews
Between now and Sunday, 4 p.m., and the curtain rises on this 21st edition of Junior Eurovision, the program will still be busy for her and the other competitors. “We work a lot. Until the big day. We’re going to continue rehearsals, at the hotel and directly at the Nikaïa Palace. There are also all the interviews,” explains Zoé.
Her mother, Sophie Clauzure, is not far away: “We support her as much as possible. We are very happy for her. It’s a unique experience. » With a grand finale? We will have to wait until the beginning of the evening, Sunday, to find out if France achieves the double and even wins a third title, after the victory of Lissandro but also that of Valentina, also crowned in 2020.