S4C, the Welsh national broadcaster, has confirmed that they will not be taking part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
Wales’ withdrawal from Junior Eurovision 2020 was confirmed this evening on the official S4C Twitter account. The reasoning for the withdrawal was the current COVID-19 pandemic.
S4C will not broadcast this year’s contest and no decision on whether they will return to the 2021 contest has been made yet. Wales is the only country so far that took part in the 2019 contest that is withdrawing from the 2020 contest.
Erin Mai represented Wales at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song “Calon yn Curo”. She finished 18th with 35 points. Wales was 16th with the juries scoring 9 points and last in the online vote with 26 points.
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:
- Belarus
- France
- Germany
- Georgia
- Ireland
- Kazakhstan
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Russia
- Serbia
- Spain
- Ukraine
Image: EBU / Source: S4C
Wales in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Wales made their debut in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest last year in Belarus. Wales was represented by Manw and the song “Perta” on stage in Minsk, Belarus. They finished 20th in the final, scoring all of their 28 points from the online vote. Wales scored 0 points from the juries in each of the competing countries, alongside Portugal.
It’s up to the following countries to save the day:
* Albania
* Armenia
* Australia
* Malta
* North Macedonia
* Portugal
* United Kingdom
This is sad news. I hope to see Wales back in 2021 !!