Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

debuted in the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the sixteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It took place in the Belaru ...

held in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, Belarus on 25 November 2018. The Welsh broadcaster

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

was responsible for organising their debut entry for the contest. Manw was selected through ''Chwilio am Seren'' to represent Wales, winning the televised national final on 9 October at the

Venue Cymru Venue Cymru is a theatre, conference centre and arena in Llandudno, Conwy County Borough, North Wales. Formerly known as the Aberconwy Centre and the North Wales Theatre and Conference Centre, it is now a large arts, conference and events ven ...

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

. The winning song, "Hi yw y Berta", was chosen internally and written by Ywain Gwynedd.

Background

Wales announced on 9 May 2018 that they would debut at the

to be held in

, Belarus. Welsh broadcaster

is responsible for the country's participation in the contest. A televised national selection process, ''Chwilio am Seren'' (English: ''Search for a Star''), was held to select the Welsh entry. Wales previously took part in the contest as part of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

between and , with

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

being responsible for their participation. S4C had also shown interest in participating in the contest, but in the end decided against participating.

Before Junior Eurovision

''Chwilio am Seren''

''Chwilio am Seren'' (''Search for a Star'') was the national selection process that was used to select the 2018 entrant. Auditions took place at Venue Cymru in

, Aberystwyth Arts Centre and at Cardiff's

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

during June 2018 with mentors Connie Fisher, Stifyn Parri and

Tara Bethan Tara Bethan Williams (born 8 December 1983) is a Welsh actress, singer and presenter. Biography Daughter of professional footballer and wrestler Orig Williams, Bethan was brought up in Llansannan and Rhyl. From a young age, Bethan sang and danc ...

as the judging panel. The four-part series, produced by Rondo Media for S4C, was aired on Tuesday nights with a repeat broadcast on Saturday afternoons. The first two shows covered the nationwide auditions. Following a masterclass round at Llandaff's

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

(part of The Cathedral School), the final twenty singers were whittled down to the top 12 who then performed in public at

Quadrant Shopping Centre The Quadrant Shopping Centre is the principal under-cover shopping centre in Swansea, Wales. The centre opened in 1979. From the 1980s to 2019 it was home to the Swansea Devil, a controversial carved wooden statue of the Devil. The centre and ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

. The jury decided at the end of these performances who would perform during a final round live on television. ;Table key : Participant who was selected to progress to the national final

National final

The national final took place in Llandudno's

on 9 October 2018, hosted by Trystan Ellis-Morris and broadcast live on S4C. The first round saw the six live finalists performing cover songs. Regional juries (

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

, Carmarthen,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) consisting of two adults and two children awarded stars (points) to their favourite three performers which were announced by a spokesperson. The three mentors, Fisher, Parri and Bethan all gave their opinions on the performances but could not vote. In the second round, the three superfinalists each performed a different arrangement (folk ballad, funky pop, piano ballad) of the official Welsh entry "Hi yw y Berta", written by Ywain Gwynedd. The televote alone selected the winner from the second round, this being Manw. The national final opened with a performance by the six finalists, performing a Welsh version of the anthem of the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the fifteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It took place on 26 November 2017 at the ...

, "Shine Bright". During the televote window, a summary of the various winners of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast.

Ratings

Artist and song information

Manw

Manw Lili Robin (born circa 2004) is a Welsh singer from

Rhosgadfan Rhosgadfan is a Wales, Welsh village in the county of Gwynedd, formerly in the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and in the community of Llanwnda, Gwynedd, Llanwnda. It is notable as the birthplace of Kate Roberts (author), Kate Roberts, one o ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. She represented Wales at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Perta". She performed at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...

and

Urdd National Eisteddfod The Urdd National Eisteddfod ( cy, Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Urdd Gobaith Cymru or ''Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd'') is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. Arguably Eur ...

a number of times, most recently in 2017, and attends

Ysgol Glanaethwy Ysgol Glanaethwy is a drama school in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It is known in particular for its choir, Côr Glanaethwy. History Ysgol Glanaethwy was opened in 1990, founded by Cefin and Rhian Roberts. It is a performing arts school that ope ...

in Bangor. In 2014, Manw played the part of Awen in the Welsh version of the animated film, '' The Secret of Kells'' (''Cyfrinach Llyfr Kells'') which was broadcast on S4C on 24 May. In 2015, Manw was a member of the Welsh choir Cor Glanaethwy, who reached the live finals of '' Britain's Got Talent''. On 23 November, S4C broadcast a 30-minute documentary ''Manw yn Minsk'', which followed her journey to the contest.

Perta

"Perta" (originally called "Hi yw y Berta", later "Berta") is a song performed by Welsh singer Manw. It represented Wales at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The song underwent a revamp ahead of the contest in Minsk, with the official music video released on 16 October. Ywain Gwynedd stated in an interview that the lyrics were written with a focus on sounding nice to non-Welsh speakers, with a repetitive chorus that was easy for viewers to sing along to. The song finished in 20th place with 29 points.

At Junior Eurovision

During the opening ceremony and the running order draw which both took place on 19 November 2018, Wales was drawn to perform eighteenth on 25 November 2018, following Armenia and preceding Malta. The final was broadcast live in Wales on

, with commentary provided by Trystan Ellis-Morris in Welsh. English commentary by Stifyn Parri was available via the

red button Red button may refer to: *Red Button (digital television), a button on the remote control for certain digital television set top boxes in the United Kingdom and Australia, and used to access interactive television services **BBC Red Button, a digit ...

. It was the joint 14th most watched show that week on S4C with 23,000 viewers.

Voting

In the contest, Wales received no points from the professional juries; they received 29 points from the online vote.