Eurovision Young Dancers 2009 was the second of three Eurovision Young Dancers contests that were scheduled but never took place. Find out what happened to the contest.
What is Eurovision Young Dancers?
Eurovision Young Dancers was first held on the 16th of June, 1985 in Reggio Emilia, Italy the inaugural contest saw 11 countries compete with Spain winning. The contest from its inception had been a contest for traditional dance styles, however, interest in the contest in 2003 and 2005 had seen the contest decline. For the 2009 contest, it was decided that the contest would focus on Modern Dance, non-professional dancers between the ages of 15 and 21 would be eligible to compete in the contest.
When would the contest take place?
Eurovision Young Dancers 2009 was due to be held on June 19, 2009 at the Dance House in Oslo. The event wouldย see Eurovision Young Dancers held for the first time since 2005, the 2007 contest had been cancelledย due to “internal reasons”.
Who was going to participate?
According to Eurovision Chat, the following broadcasters showed an interest in participating in the 12th edition of Eurovision Young Dancers:
- ๐ฆ๐น Austria (ORF)
- ๐ง๐ช Belgium (VRT)
- ๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria (BNT)
- ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic (CT)
- ๐ช๐ช Estonia (ERR)
- ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland (YLE)
- ๐ฉ๐ช Germany (ARD)
- ๐ฌ๐ท Greece (ERT)
- ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia (LTV)
- ๐ญ๐บ Hungary (MTV)
- ๐ณ๐ฑ The Netherlands (NPO)
- ๐ต๐ฑ Poland (TVP)
- ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland (SF)
- ๐ธ๐ช Sweden (SVT)
- ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom (BBC)
The following countries confirmed that they would compete at the contest in Oslo:
- ๐ณ๐ด Norway (NRK)
- ๐ท๐ด Romania (TVR)
Romania was the only country to launch its selection process for Eurovision Young Dancers 2009. The broadcaster had intended to hold a selection round in Bucharest after an open application process to compete. The country had previously participated in the 2003 and 2005 editions of the contest but never made the final.
Why was the contest cancelled?
The contest was eventually cancelled due to a lack of interest from broadcasters. The contest had been scheduled to take place at a time when public broadcasters across Europe were making significant cuts due to the financial crisis. Both the Eurovision Dance Contest and Eurovision Talent Contest were either cancelled or delayed in 2009.
Image Source: Stijn Smulders