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Kyiv to host Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2009

08 June 2009 13:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ulkar Gasimova â€“ APA. Young talents between 10 and 15 years old from 13 countries will gather in Kyiv, Ukraine, this November to take part in the 7th running of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announces today, APA reports quoting the official website of Eurovision. The live show, hosted by national public broadcaster NTU, is set to take place on Saturday, 21st of November, and will be broadcast live on television across Europe and on the internet via www.junioreurovision.tv. The 13 countries will be represented in the contest: Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Cyprus, Macedonia, Georgia, Malta, The Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Sweden and Ukraine.
Last week, the EBU Steering Group for the event visited NTU in Kyiv to be informed about the preparations for the upcoming Junior Eurovision Song Contest. "The Ukrainian organisers are eager to produce the best ever Junior Eurovision Song Contest. One thing is for sure; Europe can already look forward to a spectacular family entertainment show to take place on the 21st of November," said Svante Stockselius, Executive Supervisor of the event on behalf of the EBU.
In 2005, NTU successfully hosted the 50th Eurovision Song Contest. The upcoming Junior Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the same venue as the adult competition in 2005, the Kyiv Sports Palace.
Azerbaijan was to participate in Junior Eurovision Song Contest-2009, but later refused to participate. Last year Azerbaijan informed late the European Broadcasting Union about refusing to participate in the contest. Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (ITV) was fined for it.

According to the official website of Eurovision, the bid to host the 8th Junior Eurovision Song Contest was won by Belarusian broadcaster BTRC, which will host the competition at the brand new Minsk Arena in the country’s capital. The Minsk Arena, to be completed by the end of this year, can host up to 15,000 spectators.
Svante Stockselius, the Executive Supervisor of the event on behalf of the EBU, said: "Belarus is a committed participant of the Eurovision Song Contest and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and won the latter twice. Moreover, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest is one of Belarus’ most popular television shows. Finally, BTRC’s bid to host the competition gave the Steering Group the confidence that they are capable of hosting the competition."

The Belarusian bid to host the competition was supported by no one less than Alexander Rybak, who won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest for Norway with the song Fairytale. The 23-year old singer was born in the Belarusian capital Minsk and moved to Norway at the age of 4.

The preliminary date for next year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest is Saturday, 20th of November, 2010.