The Star School phase of the Ukrainian national selection for Junior Eurovision 2026 is underway following auditions held in Kyiv this past weekend.
The next phase of the Ukrainian selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Malta is underway, as the ten selected acts traveled to Bukovel for Star School. The ten acts who progressed from the live auditions stage are yet to be revealed by Suspilne. Fifteen acts performed in Kyiv on Sunday, hoping to secure their place; they are:
- VYHOR (Mariia Vaskivska, Tina Kolodiichuk, Zoriana Panchenko, Daria Udovychenko, Oleksandra Svarnyk and Kateryna Yaiuk)
- Mariia Blyznuk
- Kateryna Vatan
- Sofiia & Veronika Voznika
- Vladyslav Danielvskyi
- Roman Doroshenko
- Sofiia Dupelych
- Dmytro Karabet
- Erika Kolesnichenko
- Sofiia Nazarenko
- Anastasiia Pshedina
- Marko Serdynskyi
- Zlata Solonenko
- Oliviia Tkachyk
- Karina Shtefanesa
Star School is taking place in the Children’s Camp ‘One Land’ in Bukovel in the Carpathian Mountains. Star School will see 10 singers develop their creative abilities, improve their vocal skills, choreography and acting, and will be used to select the six finalists in the Ukrainian selection.
In addition, Suspilne has revealed more members of the creative team that is working on the Ukrainian national selection for Junior Eurovision. Danylo Demyekhin has been announced as a mentor and choreographer for the selection process, with Danylo commenting:
“This is the fourth time I’ve been here as a mentor and choreographer. I’m happy to be with talented children, to see their shining eyes, to work with an incredible team and people who give their hearts every day for the sake of one dream. May this path give everyone self-belief, unforgettable emotions, and our country a long-awaited victory.”
In addition, Vlad Sherif has been announced as the Director of the Junior Eurovision Diaries series, which will be produced in the weeks leading up to the national final.
The final of the Ukrainian selection for Junior Eurovision 2026 will be held on September 13. A combination of a professional jury (50%) and public voting (50%) will select the Ukrainian representative for Ta’ Qali.
Sofia Neresesian represented Ukraine at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with “Motanka”. She won the public vote and finished second overall with 177 points. This was Ukraine’s best result at Junior Eurovision since 2013.
Ukraine debuted in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 and has competed in the contest ever since. To date, Ukraine has only won the competition once. In 2012, Anastasiya Petryk won in Amsterdam with the song “Nebo”. She scored 138 points, including eight sets of 12 points. Ukraine has hosted the contest twice, the first time in 2009 and the second in 2013 following their victory in Amsterdam.
