Germany will take part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the first time this year in Warsaw.
The German participation in Junior Eurovision will be organised by broadcasters ZDF, NDR and children’s channel KiKA. The application window is now open for anyone interested in becoming the first German Junior Eurovision participant and will close on July 31. KiKA program manager Dr. Astrid Plenk commented:
“I am extremely happy that we managed to get Germany involved in this big European song contest and to show it through KiKA. We found a wonderful way of creative collaboration with NDR and ZDF, in which all partners can make an ideal contribution. This will be a huge event and experience for our KiKA audience and the whole family.”
The German entry will be composed by Levent Geiger. Levent was a finalist in the KiKA talent show “Dein Song” in 2015 and 2019. Michael Stumpf, head of the ZDF main editorial office for children and youth, explains:
“ZDF was able to get last year’s “Dein Song” Levent Geiger for the composition of our entry, who also will feature in the casting and stands by the young artist until the big show in Warsaw. We also accompany this exciting journey with a two-part documentary “.
Ole Kampowski, Head of the children’s and youth editorial team at NDR, explained that the motto for this year’s contest: “Move the World”, will influence the music video for the entry:
“NDR has been the leading broadcaster for German participation in Eurovision since 1996. It is fantastic that we are now participating in the Junior contest together with KiKA and ZDF for the first time. This year’s motto ‘Move The World’ signals strength and gives children courage to actively shape their world. It will therefore also play a role in the music video that we produce.”
KiKA Live will publish regular reports from August on the German participation, right up until the contest itself in November. Kika.de will also publish extensive additional information, application clips, profiles of all candidates and insights into the casting.
Germany was due to participate in both the 2003 and 2004 contest but later withdrew. Despite this, a German delegation was sent to observe the contest on multiple occasions, including 2013, 2014 and and 2019. NDR also broadcast the 2015 and 2016 contests online. Germany is the last of the Big 5 nations to compete in the contest. Of not as well is that Viki Gabor, winner of Junior Eurovision 2019, was born in Germany.
Junior Eurovision 2020
Junior Eurovision 2020 is to be held on November 29 in the Polish capital of Warsaw. The competition is being hosted by the Polish public broadcaster TVP, after Viki Gabor took victory with the song “Superhero”. The show will be staged in a TV studio facility in Warsaw, not a large arena as has been seen in previous years.
To date, the following countries have confirmed participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Poland:
- France
- Germany
- Georgia
- Ireland
- Kazakhstan
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Russia
- Spain
- Ukraine
Image Source: EBU / Source: eurovision.de