TVP has issued a statement regarding calls from its Program Council to stop participating in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
The Polish public broadcaster has responded to calls from its Program Council to stop participating in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. TVP released a statement last night reading:
Telewizja Polska SA informs that the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, co-organized by TVP SA and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), takes place in accordance with the principles expressed in the Junior Eurovision Code of Ethics document available at: https://junioreurovision.tv/about / code-of-ethics. The guiding principle of its organization is to promote the creative development and well-being of children. For most of the young participants, it is also a great opportunity to start a singing career.
According to the rules expressed therein, a safe and morally appropriate environment is created and maintained for minor participants, and all necessary steps are taken to prevent the lack of comfort of children due to the level of their skills. Contestants are encouraged to be creative, be friends and exchange cultural experiences. The event is held in a community-building spirit and the competitive aspect is essentially restricted.
Telewizja Polska SA, as the organizer of the previous and the present edition of the Competition, fulfilled all the recommendations listed in the Code, as evidenced by the organizational success, positive reviews of domestic and foreign media and a huge attendance among viewers. Implementing the set of the above principles and the provisions of the Act of December 29, 1992 on radio and television (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2020, No. 805), with particular emphasis on its Art. 18, TVP SA ensured the broadcast of the show suitable for all dedicated age groups among the viewers and participants of the Competition.
At the same time, TVP SA informs that further information on the position of the TVP SA Programming Council will be released after the scheduled meeting of the Council with the TVP Management Board.
The statement from TVP comes after comments made by the Vice President of the Program Council in an interview with Gazeta.pl, saying that:
We want to discuss this with the management of television, it seems to us that this formula treats children objectively and has little to do with the mission to raise culture. One may wonder if it is in some way inconsistent with the Broadcasting Act. It seems to us a dangerous direction.
As Dziennek Eurowizjny reports the TVP Program Council is only an advisory board and does not have the ability to stop TVP from hosting the contest or participating in future contests.
This is not the first time that the contest has been criticised for the treatment of its participants. Following the 2005 contest the broadcasters DR, NRK and SVT all withdrew stating that the contest was putting too much pressure on its participants.
Image Source: Thomas Hanses / Source: TVP
