VRT, the Flemish-language Belgian public broadcaster, has confirmed that they will not participate in Junior Eurovision 2026.
Annemie Gulickx, the current Programme Director of Ketnet (the children’s channel of VRT) has confirmed to ESCSpot that they will not be returning to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2026. Gulickx did not outline any specific reason behind the decision; however, last year the broadcaster explained that they could not participate due to a lack of budget.
RTBF, the French-language Belgian broadcaster, has not stated yet whether they will participate in Junior Eurovision 2026.
Belgium last participated in Junior Eurovision in 2012. Their participation was initially shared between VRT and RTBF but VRT was solely responsible for the selection of Belgian entries from 2006 to 2012.
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026
To date, the following broadcasters have confirmed their intention to compete in the 2026 contest:
- 🇬🇪 Georgia: GPB
- 🇮🇪 Ireland: TG4
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands: AVROTROS
- 🇲🇰 North Macedonia: MRT
- 🇵🇱 Poland: TVP
- 🇵🇹 Portugal: RTP
- 🇸🇲 San Marino: SMRTV – Bidding to host the 2026 contest
The following broadcasters, who have previously participated, have declined returning to the contest:
- 🇧🇪 Belgium: VRT – Last participated in 2012
- 🇩🇰 Denmark: DR – Last participated in 2005
- 🇳🇴 Norway: NRK – Last participated in 2005
- 🇸🇮 Slovenia: RTVSLO – Last participated in 2015
- 🇸🇪 Sweden: SVT – Last participated in 2014
- 🏴Wales: S4C – Last participated in 2019
The following broadcasters have ruled out debuting in the contest:
- 🇨🇿 Czechia: ČT – Never broadcast the contest
- 🇫🇮 Finland: Yle – Last broadcast the contest in 2003
- 🇮🇸 Iceland: RÚV – Last broadcast the contest in 2021
Source: ESC Spot
Belgium took part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest from 2003 to 2012. From 2005 onwards, VRT was in charge of selecting their entries, due to a lack of interest from RTBF. The country hosted the 2005 contest in the city of Hasselt, which was jointly organised by VRT and RTBF. Their best entry came from Laura Omloop and her song “Zo verliefd (Yodelo)”, which finished 4th at the 2009 contest in Kyiv. VRT withdrew from the competition in 2013 in order to launch a new show for young performers in Belgium.
