The stand in rehearsals for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 begin tomorrow at the Minsk Arena in Belarus.
Tomorrow the stand in rehearsals for the 16th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 get underway in Minsk. The stand in rehearsals see each of the twenty competing countries performances, performed by local singers and dancers. These performances are filmed and then sent to the delegations so that they are able to see how their performance will look on stage before their rehearsals begin next week.
The performances enable the lighting, camera work and effects to all be tested before the contest begins. By enabling these stand in rehearsals to take place in the week before the contest begins, delegations are able to provide feedback and request changes before they make it to the Minsk Arena next week.
This years host broadcaster BTRC, revealed that rehearsals for the stand ins were already underway last week. In one of the broadcasters weekly reports they revealed the Irish act before the Irish selection had been aired, as well as aspects of what to expect from their performance.
The 2018 edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Minsk, Belarus after the country won the bidding process before the 2017 contest even began. Olga Salamankha explained that Belarus was selected as the host for next years contest over other bids due to their long-term commitment to the competition.
Twenty countries will take part in this years contest on November 25. These are:
- Albania
- Armenia
- Australia
- Azerbaijan – Returning nation
- Belarus
- France – Returning nation
- FYR Macedonia
- Georgia
- Ireland
- Israel – Returning nation
- Italy
- Kazakhstan – Debut
- Malta
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Serbia
- The Netherlands
- Ukraine
- Wales – Debut
Source: BTRC
