The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 19th edition of the annual

Junior Eurovision Song Contest The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a diff ...

, organised by

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...

and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest was held on 19 December 2021 at

La Seine Musicale La Seine Musicale is a music and performing arts center located on Île Seguin an island on the Seine river between Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres, in the western suburbs of Paris, France. Events La Seine Musicale was inaugurated on 22 April 2 ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, following the country's victory at the with the song "

J'imagine "J'imagine" (, ) is a song by French singer Valentina, released as a single on 16 October 2020. The song's lyrics were inspired by the isolation and separation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "J'imagine" was France's winning entry in the Ju ...

", performed by Valentina. This was the first time the contest was held in France, as well as the first Eurovision event to be held in the country since

Eurovision Young Dancers 1999 The Eurovision Young Dancers 1999 was the eighth edition of the Eurovision Young Dancers, held at the Opéra de Lyon, in Lyon, France, on 10 July 1999. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster France 3, dancers from ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

and the first to be held in Paris since

Eurovision Young Dancers 1989 The Eurovision Young Dancers 1989 was the third edition of the Eurovision Young Dancers held at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, France on 28 June 1989. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster France Régions 3 ...

. Nineteen countries participated in the contest, with , , , , and all returning after their absences from the previous edition. and returned after two and four-year absences respectively. For the first time in 19 editions, did not participate, as the country's broadcaster is under a three-year suspension from the EBU, making the the only country to participate every year since the contest began in 2003. 's Maléna was the winner of the contest with the song "". This was Armenia's second victory in the contest, following their win in . , host country , and completed the top five, with this being the highest placement for Azerbaijan to date. Meanwhile, the finished in last place for the first time in the contest's history. and also achieved their lowest placings to date, the latter finishing outside the top five for the first time.

Location

On 9 December 2020, it was announced that the contest was set to take place in France in 2021. It was hosted in

, a 6,000-seat concert hall located on

Île Seguin Île Seguin (Seguin Island) is an island on the Seine river between Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres, in the west suburbs of Paris, France. It has a surface area of approximately 11.5 hectares (28 acres), and is positioned opposite Meudon, a sho ...

. The contest was held on 19December, which is the latest date for the contest ever. The last time the contest was held in December was in .

Bidding phase and host city selection

Unlike Eurovision's adult version, the winning country originally did not receive the automatic rights to host the next contest. However, for the contests since 2011 (with the exceptions of 2012 and 2018), the winning country has had

first refusal Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transactio ...

on hosting the next competition. Italy used this clause in 2015 to decline to host the contest after their victory in 2014. On 15 October 2017, the EBU announced a return to the original system in 2018, to help provide broadcasters with a greater amount of time to prepare, and to ensure the continuation of the contest into the future. On 9 December 2020, it was confirmed by the EBU that France, having won the , would host the 2021 contest. The French Head of Delegation Alexandra Redde-Amiel had previously stated that

was keen to host the contest. Spanish broadcaster

Televisión Española Televisión Española (acronym TVE, branded tve, "Spanish Television") is Spain's national state-owned public television broadcaster and the oldest regular television service in the country. It was also the first regular television service in ...

(TVE) had also expressed an interest in hosting the contest if they had won the 2020 contest. On 20 May 2021, during a press conference held by France Télévisions and the EBU, it was confirmed that the contest would be held in Paris. It was the second consecutive time the contest is held in a capital city.

Production

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Several measures were taken by the organisers in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, particularly the spread of the

Omicron variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...

. Although the live show was held with a full capacity audience wearing masks, the jury show, which took place on 18 December, was held without an audience. The opening ceremony, which took place on 13 December, was held without delegations attending. In preparation for the event, the EBU had been considering three scenarios in which the contest could be held, which were announced on 24 August. The three scenarios include: * The event is held with no restrictions, as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic began (scenario A). * The event is held with

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dis ...

measures in place (scenario B). The

Eurovision Song Contest 2021 The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's win at the with the song " Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was set to host the ...

was held in this scenario. * The option is provided for acts to compete with their music video if they are unable to travel to Paris (scenario C, which was the option used by Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021) or to compete with a recording of the rehearsals if they are unable to compete in the televised final (this was the option used by

Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Icelandic broadcaster (RÚV) chose Daði to represent the nation with the song "10 Years", written by Daði Freyr Pétursson. were due to compete in the 2 ...

Format

Opening and interval acts

French DJ duo Ofenbach were the opening act for the show. During the interval, Valentina performed a Christmas version of her winning song "". All participants then joined on stage for a rendition of the common song, "Imagine". Barbara Pravi closed the interval with a performance of her song "", with which she represented France in the

Presenters

Carla Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include: * Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United * Carla Abe ...

Élodie Gossuin Élodie Gossuin (born 15 December 1980) is a French beauty pageant titleholder, model, radio and television presenter, columnist and regional politician. She was elected Miss Picardy 2000, Miss France 2001 (she is the 72nd Miss France), and Miss ...

and

Olivier Minne Olivier Minne (born 18 March 1967 in Ixelles, Belgium) is a Belgian-born French television presenter, actor and producer. Biography Minne was born in Belgium, the son of a Belgian father and a French mother. Minne studied in Brussels, at a Jes ...

were the presenters of the show. Carla was also the French entrant in the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the seventeenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by Telewizja Polska (TVP) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was held on 24 November 2019, at the Gliwice Ar ...

. The hosts were revealed during a press conference on 17 November.

Visual design

The slogan for the contest, ''Imagine'', was revealed on 20 May 2021 during a press conference prior to the

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The slogan was chosen as a reference to the previous year's winning song "

", as well as a way to encourage children to be creative and pursue their dreams. The official logo and theme artwork for the contest was unveiled on 24 August 2021. The artwork was inspired by three themes: imagination,

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

and the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...

Postcards

Contestants were featured in "postcard" video introductions, set in a different location in Paris, or surrounding areas in France. Each began with a short clip of the upcoming performer flying over the skies of Paris via green screen, followed by an extended sequence involving dance troupes dancing in a specific Parisian location. Following that, a stream of light in the colours of the upcoming country's flag entered La Seine Musicale, and the upcoming participant's face was projected onto the exterior of the venue, signalling the beginning of the upcoming performance. * Palais Garnier *

Galerie Vivienne The Galerie Vivienne is one of the covered passages of Paris, France, located in the 2nd arrondissement. It is long and wide. The gallery has been registered as a historical monument since 7 July 1974. History The gallery was built in 1823 b ...

Musée Grévin The ''Musée Grévin'' (; ) ( en, Grévin Museum) is a wax museum in Paris located on the Grands Boulevards in the 9th arrondissement on the right bank of the Seine, at 10, Boulevard Montmartre, Paris, France. It is open daily; an admission fee ...

La Samaritaine La Samaritaine (French pronunciation: a samaʁitɛn is a large department store in Paris, France, located in the first arrondissement. The nearest métro station is Pont-Neuf, directly in front at the quai du Louvre and the rue de la Monnaie ...

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

Pont de Bir-Hakeim The Pont de Bir-Hakeim (English: Bridge of Bir-Hakeim), formerly the Pont de Passy (Bridge of Passy), is a bridge that crosses the Seine in Paris. It connects the 15th and 16th arrondissement, passing through the Île aux Cygnes. The bridge, made ...

Musée des Arts Forains The Musée des Arts Forains (Fairground Museum) is a private museum of funfair and fairground objects located within the Pavillons de Bercy in the 12th arrondissement of Paris at 53, avenue des Terroirs de France, Paris, France. It is open to the p ...

Panthéon The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...

* Palace of Versailles *

Institut du Monde Arabe The ''Institut du Monde Arabe'', French for Arab World Institute, abbreviated ''IMA'', is an organization founded in Paris in 1980 by France with 18 Arab countries to research and disseminate information about the Arab world and its cultural an ...

* L’Espace Niemeyer *

Galeries Lafayette The Galeries Lafayette () is an upmarket French department store chain, the biggest in Europe. Its flagship store is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris but it now operates in a number of other locations in France and oth ...

Pont des Arts The Pont des Arts or Passerelle des Arts is a pedestrian bridge in Paris which crosses the River Seine. It links the Institut de France and the central square (''cour carrée'') of the Palais du Louvre, (which had been termed the "Palais des Ar ...

Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...

Château de Chantilly The Château de Chantilly () is a historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Paris. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château built around 1560 for Anne de Montmor ...

Musée Condé The Musée Condé – in English, the Condé Museum – is a French museum located inside the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise, 40 km north of Paris. In 1897, Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of Louis Philippe I, bequeathed the ...

Sacré-Cœur, Paris The Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre (Sacred Heart of Montmartre), commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur (french: Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre, pronounced ), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in Par ...

Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris (, Paris' Museum of Modern Art) or MAM Paris, is a major municipal museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries, including monumental murals by Raoul Dufy, Gaston Suisse, and Henri ...

Participating countries

On 2 September 2021, 19 countries were confirmed to be participating in the contest, equaling the number of participating countries from 2019. , , , , and all returned after a one-year absence, while and returned after two and four-year absences respectively. For the first time since the contest's

inception ''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infi ...

, did not participate, as the country's broadcaster BTRC is in the midst of a three-year suspension from the EBU. This made it the first edition since the 2004 contest to not see any of the previous year's participating countries withdraw voluntarily, as well as the first since 2018 to see the number of participating countries actively increase from the year before. Prior to the event, a digital compilation album featuring all the songs from the 2021 contest was put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

on 3 December 2021. The Russian representative, Tanya Mezhentseva, has participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest before; she represented Russia in along with Denberel Oorzhak, finishing in 13th place with the song "A Time for Us". This is only the third case (all of whom have been from Russia) in the competition to feature a returning artist from previous editions after Katya Ryabova ( Russia 2009 and 2011) and

Lerika Valeriya Andreyevna Engalycheva (russian: Валерия Андреевна Енгалычева, Romanian: Valeria Engalîceva; born 7 April 1999), known professionally as Lerika (russian: Лерика), is a Moldovan-Russian singer and songw ...

( Moldova 2011 and Russia 2012). The Armenian representative, Maléna, was set to participate in 2020 with the song "Why" before Armenia withdrew from the competition.

Detailed voting results

Below is a summary of all 12 points received from each country's professional juries.

Spokespersons

The 12 points from the juries were announced live by a spokesperson from each country. Countries that did not provide their own spokesperson had their 12 points announced by a local student from Paris. # Venetia #

Sandra Gadelia Georgia participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was held in Warsaw, Poland on 29 November 2020. Sandra Gadelia was selected through the televised show ''Ranina''. She achieved 6th place with 111 points. Background Prior to ...

# Matylda # Eden # Céleste # Arianne # Liza Gureeva # Rueben Levi Hackett # Karina Ignatyan # Zere # Alex #

Oleksandr Balabanov Ukraine participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was held in Warsaw, Poland, with the song "Vidkryvai" performed by Oleksandr Balabanov. Their entrant was selected through a national selection, organised by the Ukrainian broa ...

# Angélina # Suleyman # Matheu # Lucía Arcos # Katie # Fendi # Manon

Online voting

According to the EBU, a total of over 4.3 million valid votes were received during the voting windows.

Other countries

For a country to be eligible for potential participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, it needs to be an active member of the EBU.

Active EBU members

*Walloon broadcaster RTBF stated in June that participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest was considered too expensive. Belgium last participated in with their entry solely supported by Flemish broadcaster VRT, while their last Walloon entry was in . *

Eesti Rahvusringhääling Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) – ''Estonian Public Broadcasting'' – is a publicly funded and owned radio and television organisation created in Estonia on 1 June 2007 to take over the functions of the formerly separate Eesti Raadio ...

(ERR) did not debut at the 2021 contest due to financial issues, but the broadcaster would consider debuting in the coming years. *

Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC; he, תאגיד השידור הישראלי, translit=Ta'agid HaShidur HaYisra'eli, lit=Israeli Broadcasting Corporation; ar, هيئة البث الإسرائيلي, translit=Hayyat al-Bathi al- ...

(IPBC) confirmed that they would not be participating in the junior contest due to focusing their efforts on the Eurovision Song Contest. Israel last participated in . * Lithuanian Head of Delegation Audrius Giržadas confirmed that broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) would not be returning to the contest in 2021, citing low ratings during their time in the contest and the cost of participation. Lithuania last participated in . *At a Junior Eurovision press event in May 2021, the EBU stated that they were working to bring the United Kingdom back to the contest, possibly for the 2021 edition. However, the country did not appear on the final list of participants in September. The United Kingdom last participated as a unified nation in . * S4C confirmed their non-participation in February 2021 due to "the current circumstances", implying to the difficulties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Wales last participated in .

Associate EBU members

* In August 2021, Australian broadcaster SBS indirectly confirmed that discussions about participation in the 2021 edition were ongoing, suggesting that the country could return after a year of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but did not disclose what their final decision was likely to be. Later that month, the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC), who had organised Australia's participation between 2017 and 2019, confirmed that they would not be participating in the 2021 contest, leaving the door open for SBS to take over if they were so inclined. A day after

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

announced they would not return, SBS stated they had ruled out a return as well. Australia last participated in 2019.

Non-EBU members

* Belarusian broadcaster BTRC was expelled from the EBU on 1 July, therefore losing the rights to broadcast and participate in the contest unless another Belarusian broadcaster joins the EBU. In August 2021, it was confirmed that the suspension would last for three years, however, the EBU can review it at any point before it expires.

Broadcasts

Some countries rebroadcast the event several days later in late 2021 or early 2022 like

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

during

Viewing figures

According to the EBU, 33 million people watched the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021, with a viewing share of 15.6%. France had record high viewing figures for the contest, while the Netherlands had record low viewing figures. For the following countries, viewership information is known:

Notes

References

{{Junior Eurovision Song Contest

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

2021 in France 2021 song contests Music festivals in France December 2021 events in France