Belarus and Ukraine will tonight select their entries for the 15th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Ukraine – National Selection 2017 – 16:30 CET
Ukraine kicks off tonight’s Junior Eurovision selections in Kyiv, as ten artists from across the country compete to represent them in Tbilisi.
Performers from Georgia, this year’s host country, are expected to take in the interval, as Georgian culture is very popular in Ukraine. They will perform Georgian songs alongside this year’s contestants. Other special guests include Ukrainian artists and a Ukrainian dance group who will perform traditional Georgian dance.
The national final will be the first live broadcast from Artek since it moved to Kyiv. The centre was originally based in Crimea but the staff were moved to a new site in Bukovel after the Russian annexation of Crimea. The original site remains open and was used for the last two Russian Junior Eurovision selections.
The winner will be chosen by a jury (50%) and public voting (50%). The jury is formed of Vadym Lysytsya, Svitlana Tarabarova, Iryna Shvaydak, EL Kravchuk and Rozhden.
However, a special prize will also be awarded by the Artek audience to one contestant. The audience will provide a representation of Ukraine as whole, as it is made of children from all over the country, proportional to the population of each oblast.
The ten finalists that will compete to become the next Ukrainian Junior Eurovision representative are:
- Veronika Kovalenko – “In My dream”
- Sofia Lozina – “I believe”
- Sofia Bondarenko – “Music of your soul”
- Darina Halycka – “Angels”
- Duet Hilarmurchuck – “Where are you and me”
- Sofia Shkidchenko – “Yodeley”
- Polina Ryzhak – “On your way”
- Anastasiya Baginska – “Do not stop”
- Fedir Sklyarenko – “Come on, sing”
- Nina Boikova – “Dream is near”
Watch the competition live from 16:30 CET here.
Belarus – National Selection 2017 – 21:00 CET
Live from Minsk, ten artists will be competing to represent Belarus at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Last year’s Belarusian representative, Alexander Minyonok, will open the show with his Junior Eurovision entry “Muzyka moikh pobed”. He will also perform another song during the show. As part of the interval, some performers who did not proceed to the live final, but were noted by the selection jury for the high level of their songs.
Returning to host the show again are Teo and Olga Ryzhikova, presenters of “Dobrai ranitsy, Belarus!” (Good Morning Belarus!). Teo also represented Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, finishing 16th in the final with his own composition “Cheesecake”.
The show will take place on August 25 at 21:00 CET. The show will be broadcast on Belarus 1, Belarus 24 and online on the Belteleradiocompany website. A studio jury (50%) and public voting (50%) will decide who will represent Belarus at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Tblisi on November 26.
The participants are:
- Khelena Meraai – Ya samaja
- Anastasiya Timofeyevich – Volshebniy svet
- Ruslana Panchishina – Tantsui so mnoy
- Elina Mataras – Ty reshaesh sam
- Yaroslav Sokolikov – Okean
- Stefaniya Sokolova – Mama
- Arina Pekhtereva & Anastasia Dmitrachkova – Muzyka-Vselennaja
- Kvartet Natsional’nogo tsentra detskogo tvorchestva im.V.Mulyavina (Quartet of the National Center for Children’s Creativity named after V. Mulyavin – Formed of Maksim Tsuprikov, Angelina Lomako, Stefaniya Kruglaya and Stefaniya Sokolova) – Prodolzhay idti
- Mariya Zhilina – Vyshei
- Anastasiya Zhabko – Letim k mechtam
Watch the competition live from 21:00 CET here and follow the contest live with Eurovoix via Eurovoix Moments on Twitter.
My mom and I are picking flowers at a field later today, so I might not be able to watch Ukraine’s selection. 🙁