Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the fourteenth edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, held on 20 November 2016 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, Malta, and presented by Ben Camille and Valerie Vella. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). This was the second time that the contest was hosted in Malta, its first being in 2014. Jon Ola Sand was appointed as the Executive Supervisor for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016, following the dismissal of the former supervisor, Vladislav Yakovlev.

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Embrace
Date and venue
Final
  • 20 November 2016
VenueMediterranean Conference Centre
Valletta, Malta
Organisation
OrganiserEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU)
Executive supervisorJon Ola Sand
Production
Host broadcasterPublic Broadcasting Services (PBS)
DirectorGordon Bonello
Executive producerCharles Dalli
Presenters
  • Ben Camille
  • Valerie Vella
Participants
Number of entries17
Returning countries
Non-returning countries
  •  Montenegro
  •  San Marino
  •  Slovenia
Participation map
  •      Competing countries     Countries that participated in the past but not in 2016
Vote
Voting systemEach country's adult & kid juries, as well as three expert jurors, award 12, 10, 8–1 points to their top 10 songs.
Winning song Georgia
"Mzeo"
2015 ← Junior Eurovision Song Contest → 2017
Event page at junioreurovision.tv

Broadcasters from seventeen countries participated in the contest with Montenegro and Slovenia both withdrawing from the competition after two contests, and San Marino withdrawing after three, whilst Cyprus returned after a one-year break, Israel returned after a three-year break and Poland returned to the contest after a record eleven-year break. For the first time since the inauguration of the contest the voting procedure did not include a public televote. The overall results were determined by combination of professional and young jurors.

The winner was Georgia with the song "Mzeo" by Mariam Mamadashvili, marking the third time Georgia has won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest (following 2008 and 2011 respectively), making Georgia the first country to win the competition three times. Armenia and Italy finished in second and third place, respectively.

Location

During a press conference interview on 21 November 2015, a representative from the EBU stated that they had already begun approaching several broadcasters in regards to being the host country for the 2016 contest. On 13 April 2016, it was confirmed that Malta would host the contest. This was the second time that the country hosted the contest, having previously done so in 2014.

The chosen venue was the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, the Maltese capital. The main stage was in the Republic Hall which typically seats up to 1,400 people, while the green room was placed in a hall next to it, the Sacra Infermeria Hall.

Participants

On 28 September 2016, it was confirmed that seventeen countries would take part in the contest. Cyprus, Israel, and Poland all returned after a one-year, three-year and eleven-year breaks respectively. Montenegro and Slovenia both withdrew from the competition after two contests, and San Marino withdrew after competing in the past three editions. TVM, the Maltese television network operated by the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), initially expected that a total of eighteen countries would participate in the 2016 contest.

Prior to the event, a digital compilation album featuring all the songs from the 2016 contest, as well as two new songs by 2015 winner Destiny Chukunyere: "Embrace" and "Fast Life", was put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by Universal Music Group on 12 November 2016.

Participants of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Country Broadcaster Artist Song Language Songwriter(s)
 Albania RTSH Klesta Qehaja "Besoj" Albanian, English
  • Adrian Hila
  • Pandi Laço
 Armenia AMPTV Anahit and Mary "Tarber" (Տարբեր) Armenian, English
  • Avet Barseghyan
  • Nick Egibyan
 Australia SBS Alexa Curtis "We Are" English
  • Boi-1da
  • Tania Doko
  • Ali Tamposi
 Belarus BTRC Alexander Minyonok "Muzyka moikh pobed (Music Is My Only Way)" (Музыка моих побед) Russian, English
  • Kirill Ermakov
  • Roman Kolodko
  • Alexander Minyonok
 Bulgaria BNT Lidia Ganeva "Magical Day (Valsheben den)" (Вълшебен ден) Bulgarian, English
  • Vladimir "Grafa" Ampov
  • Iliya Grigorov
 Cyprus CyBC George Michaelides "Dance Floor" Greek, English
  • Andreas Anastasiou
  • George Michaelides
 Georgia GPB Mariam Mamadashvili "Mzeo" (მზეო) Georgian
  • Maka Davitaia
  • Giorgi Kukhianidze
 Ireland TG4 Zena Donnelly "Bríce ar Bhríce" Irish, English Zena Donnelly
 Israel IBA Shir and Tim "Follow My Heart" Hebrew, English
  • Dor Daniel
  • Noam Horev
 Italy RAI Fiamma Boccia "Cara mamma (Dear Mom)" Italian, English
  • Fiamma Boccia
  • Alessandro Ghironi
  • Marco Iardella
  • Francesco Spadoni
 Macedonia MRT Martija Stanojković "Love Will Lead Our Way (Ljubovta ne vodi)" (Љубовта не води) Macedonian, English
  • Aleksandar Masevski
  • Martija Stanojković
 Malta PBS Christina Magrin "Parachute" English
  • Florent Boshnjaku
  • Christina Magrin
  • Matt "Muxu" Mercieca
 Netherlands AVROTROS Kisses "Kisses and Dancin'" Dutch, English
  • Joost Griffioen
  • Stas Swaczyna
  • Hansen Tomas
 Poland TVP Olivia Wieczorek "Nie zapomnij" Polish, English
  • Dominik Grabowski
  • Piotr Rubik
 Russia VGTRK The Water of Life Project "Water of Life" Russian, English Rita Dakota
 Serbia RTS Dunja Jeličić "U la la la" (У ла ла ла) Serbian
  • Vladimir Graić
  • Dunja Jeličić
  • Leontina Vukomanović
 Ukraine NTU Sofia Rol "Planet Craves for Love" Ukrainian, English
  • Sandra Bjurman
  • Yevgeny Matyushenko
  • Vitalii Kurovskyi
  • Ruslan Kvinta
  • Sofia Rol

Format

Executive supervisor dismissal

An announcement was made in December 2015, regarding the contract termination of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor Vladislav Yakovlev. Yakovlev was fired without any clear reasons after three contests, and was replaced by Jon Ola Sand who has been Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest since 2011.

Graphic design

During a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on 13 May 2016, the logo and slogan of the contest were released, intending to represent the contest's values: connectivity, diversity, creativity and respect. The slogan for the contest was "Embrace". On 10 September 2016, it was revealed that each of the postcards preceding the participants' performances would showcase Malta. Filming took place in various locations, including Hastings Gardens and City Gate.

On 8 October 2016, PBS released details regarding the proposed stage design for the contest. The design included a circular stage with an LED backdrop and a spiral structure.

Hosts

On 28 October 2016, it was announced that Valerie Vella and Ben Camille would host the 2016 contest. Vella is known in Malta as a television presenter, having hosted the Maltese national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002, 2009 and 2011. She presented the Maltese votes at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000 and 2005 and commented on the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 and 2010, as well as the Junior Eurovision Song Contest from 2004 to 2009. Camille is also known both as a television presenter and an actor in Malta, notable for having acted in Maltese television show Strada Stretta. He hosted Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016 and presented the Maltese votes in the Eurovision Song Contest that year.

Voting

During the press conference for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016, which was held in Stockholm, as the adult contest was being held there, the steering group announced several changes to the voting format for the 2016 contest. Previously, points had been awarded based on a combination of 50% national juries and 50% televoting, from each country with one more set of points also given out by a 'Kids' Jury'. The new voting system would be an adaptation of the new system used in the adult festival, but instead of the televoting, which was removed, a children's jury would be used by each country. In 2016, 1–8, 10, and 12 points were awarded based on a 50/50 combination of each country's Adult and Kids' Jury, announced by a spokesperson. This brought an end to the use of televoting for the first time. For the first time, an expert panel from the professional music industry provided feedback on each of the artists performances. The members of the panel were: Christer Björkman, Mads Grimstad, and the 2011 and 2012, participants at the adult version Jedward. Also for the first time since 2005, the starting 12 points, which were then added to make sure nobody would receive no points, were dropped.

Contest overview

The event took place on 20 November 2016 at 16:00 CET. Seventeen countries participated, with the running order published on 15 November 2016. All the countries competing were eligible to vote with the Adult and the Kids jury vote, as well as an Expert jury, eligible to vote. Georgia won with 239 points, also winning the Adult jury vote. Armenia came second with 232 points and won the Kids jury vote, with Italy, Russia (who won the Expert jury vote), and Australia completing the top five. Albania, Ukraine, Israel, Cyprus, and Serbia occupied the bottom five positions.

The opening of the show featured last year's winner Destiny Chukunyere performing her winning entry "Not My Soul" followed by the traditional flag parade accompanied by the theme song "Embrace". The interval acts included Poli Genova performing her Eurovision 2016 entry "If Love Was a Crime" and Jedward performing "Hologram". All participants then joined on stage for a rendition of the common song, "We Are" (not to be confused with the competing Australian entry).

R/O Country Artist Song Points Place
1  Ireland Zena Donnelly "Bríce ar Bhríce" 122 10
2  Armenia Anahit and Mary "Tarber" 232 2
3  Albania Klesta Qehaja "Besoj" 38 13
4  Russia The Water of Life Project "Water of Life" 202 4
5  Malta Christina Magrin "Parachute" 191 6
6  Bulgaria Lidia Ganeva "Magical Day (Valsheben den)" 161 9
7  Macedonia Martija Stanojković "Love Will Lead Our Way (Ljubovta ne vodi)" 41 12
8  Poland Olivia Wieczorek "Nie zapomnij" 60 11
9  Belarus Alexander Minyonok "Muzyka moikh pobed (Music Is My Only Way)" 177 7
10  Ukraine Sofia Rol "Planet Craves for Love" 30 14
11  Italy Fiamma Boccia "Cara mamma (Dear Mom)" 209 3
12  Serbia Dunja Jeličić "U la la la" 14 17
13  Israel Shir and Tim "Follow My Heart" 27 15
14  Australia Alexa Curtis "We Are" 202 5
15  Netherlands Kisses "Kisses and Dancin'" 174 8
16  Cyprus George Michaelides "Dance Floor" 27 16
17  Georgia Mariam Mamadashvili "Mzeo" 239 1

Spokespersons

The first votes to be announced were those of the professional music industry jury, announced in the order of performance. The expert juries then announced their votes which had been cast live at the contest. Finally, the points awarded by the kids juries were announced as a total in order of the fewest to the greatest number of points received by each country. The spokespersons are shown below alongside each participating country.

  1.  Ireland – Andrea Leddy
  2.  Armenia – Mika
  3.  Albania – Juna Dizdari
  4.  Russia – Mikhail Smirnov
  5.  Malta – Gaia Cauchi
  6.  Bulgaria – Milen Pavlov
  7.  Macedonia – Antonija Dimitrijevska
  8.  Poland – Nicoletta Włodarczyk
  9.  Belarus – Ruslan Aslanov
  10.  Ukraine – Anna Trincher
  11.  Italy – Jade Scicluna
  12.  Serbia – Tomislav Radojević
  13.  Israel – Itay Limor
  14.  Australia – Sebastian Hill
  15.  Netherlands – Anneloes
  16.  Cyprus – Loucas Demetriou
  17.  Georgia – Elene Sturua
  18.  Expert jury – Mads Grimstad
  19.  Expert jury – Christer Björkman
  20.  Expert jury – Jedward

Detailed voting results

The votes of the adult jury and the kids jury were cast after the second dress rehearsal, whereas the votes of the expert jury were cast after the performances at the final. Mariam Mamadashvili who represented Georgia with the song "Mzeo", was declared the winner after all the votes had been announced from all of the seventeen participating countries and the expert juries. Below is a full breakdown of how the votes were cast.

Split results
Place Combined Adult Jury Expert Jury Kids Jury
Country Points Country Points Country Points Country Points
1  Georgia 239  Georgia 144  Russia 29  Armenia 110
2  Armenia 232  Armenia 99  Armenia 23  Malta 105
3  Italy 209  Netherlands 94  Italy 22  Russia 105
4  Russia 202  Belarus 92  Belarus 20  Italy 103
5  Australia 202  Australia 86  Australia 17  Australia 99
6  Malta 191  Italy 84  Bulgaria 15  Georgia 83
7  Belarus 177  Malta 80  Netherlands 15  Bulgaria 68
8  Netherlands 174  Bulgaria 78  Georgia 12  Netherlands 65
9  Bulgaria 161  Russia 68  Ireland 9  Belarus 65
10  Ireland 122  Ireland 56  Malta 6  Ireland 57
11  Poland 60  Albania 23  Poland 3  Poland 36
12  Macedonia 41  Poland 21  Albania 2  Macedonia 24
13  Albania 38  Ukraine 18  Israel 1  Israel 20
14  Ukraine 30  Macedonia 17  Macedonia 0  Albania 13
15  Israel 27  Cyprus 15  Ukraine 0  Ukraine 12
16  Cyprus 27  Israel 6  Serbia 0  Cyprus 12
17  Serbia 14  Serbia 5  Cyprus 0  Serbia 9
Detailed voting results (Adult jury votes)
Voting procedure used:
  Adult jury
  Expert jury
  Kids jury
Total score
Adult jury score
Expert jury score
Kids jury score
Ireland
Armenia
Albania
Russia
Malta
Bulgaria
Macedonia
Poland
Belarus
Ukraine
Italy
Serbia
Israel
Australia
Netherlands
Cyprus
Georgia
Contestants
Ireland 122 56 9 57 1 1 12 3 10 12 6 8 3
Armenia 232 99 23 110 4 7 10 8 10 10 2 12 10 4 7 7 8
Albania 38 23 2 13 2 4 2 5 7 1 2
Russia 202 68 29 105 7 6 4 1 8 7 7 4 2 5 5 2 3 4 3
Malta 191 80 6 105 1 4 7 3 5 6 1 8 5 10 1 12 10 7
Bulgaria 161 78 15 68 3 8 6 6 7 12 5 3 7 1 7 6 1 6
Macedonia 41 17 0 24 2 2 1 3 2 5 2
Poland 60 21 3 36 2 4 1 2 1 6 4 1
Belarus 177 92 20 65 8 7 12 5 10 3 5 12 10 10 8 2
Ukraine 30 18 0 12 3 2 4 3 1 5
Italy 209 84 22 103 10 1 8 5 6 12 6 4 6 2 7 8 5 4
Serbia 14 5 0 9 5
Israel 27 6 1 20 3 2 1
Australia 202 86 17 99 5 5 10 6 8 4 1 10 6 7 8 4 12
Netherlands 174 94 15 65 6 10 5 8 7 7 4 3 3 8 4 4 6 3 6 10
Cyprus 27 15 0 12 2 8 5
Georgia 239 144 12 83 12 12 12 10 3 12 8 12 12 3 10 8 6 12 12
Detailed voting results (Expert jury votes)
Voting procedure used:
  Adult jury
  Expert jury
  Kids jury
Total score
Adult jury score
Expert jury score
Kids jury score
Mads Grimstad
Christer Björkman
Jedward
Contestants
Ireland 122 56 9 57 4 5
Armenia 232 99 23 110 5 8 10
Albania 38 23 2 13 2
Russia 202 68 29 105 10 7 12
Malta 191 80 6 105 2 4
Bulgaria 161 78 15 68 8 6 1
Macedonia 41 17 0 24
Poland 60 21 3 36 3
Belarus 177 92 20 65 6 12 2
Ukraine 30 18 0 12
Italy 209 84 22 103 12 10
Serbia 14 5 0 9
Israel 27 6 1 20 1
Australia 202 86 17 99 7 3 7
Netherlands 174 94 15 65 3 4 8
Cyprus 27 15 0 12
Georgia 239 144 12 83 1 5 6
Detailed voting results (Kids jury vote)
Voting procedure used:
  Adult jury
  Expert jury
  Kids jury
Total score
Adult jury score
Expert jury score
Kids jury score
Ireland
Armenia
Albania
Russia
Malta
Bulgaria
Macedonia
Poland
Belarus
Ukraine
Italy
Serbia
Israel
Australia
Netherlands
Cyprus
Georgia
Contestants
Ireland 122 56 9 57 8 1 10 7 2 7 8 1 6 2 5
Armenia 232 99 23 110 7 6 10 7 12 8 12 5 10 10 5 6 4 8
Albania 38 23 2 13 4 1 4 1 2 1
Russia 202 68 29 105 8 3 2 10 12 6 10 8 6 12 6 10 6 6
Malta 191 80 6 105 5 6 12 8 5 10 10 5 3 12 4 10 3 7 5
Bulgaria 161 78 15 68 6 5 5 3 5 6 1 8 2 3 3 8 3 7 3
Macedonia 41 17 0 24 7 1 2 2 3 8 1
Poland 60 21 3 36 12 1 4 2 7 10
Belarus 177 92 20 65 8 12 8 6 5 7 5 7 7
Ukraine 30 18 0 12 3 4 4 1
Italy 209 84 22 103 10 1 10 2 12 7 7 12 6 5 7 8 4 8 4
Serbia 14 5 0 9 3 3 1 2
Israel 27 6 1 20 1 3 5 4 1 4 2
Australia 202 86 17 99 12 2 7 8 6 2 8 1 4 7 6 4 12 10 10
Netherlands 174 94 15 65 4 7 6 6 1 4 10 2 12 1 12
Cyprus 27 15 0 12 2 2 5 3
Georgia 239 144 12 83 3 10 4 4 5 3 3 12 8 2 12 5 12

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's adult and kids jury. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from the adult and kids jury) to the specified entrant.

12 points awarded by adult juries
N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
8  Georgia  Albania,  Armenia,  Belarus,  Bulgaria,  Cyprus,  Ireland,  Netherlands,  Ukraine
2  Belarus  Israel,  Russia
 Ireland  Italy,  Malta
1  Armenia  Serbia
 Australia  Georgia
 Bulgaria  Poland
 Italy  Macedonia
 Malta  Australia
12 points awarded by the expert juries
N. Contestant Juror(s) giving 12 points
1  Belarus Christer Björkman
 Italy Mads Grimstad
 Russia Jedward
12 points awarded by the kids juries
N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
3  Georgia  Australia,  Cyprus,  Ukraine
2  Armenia  Belarus,  Bulgaria
 Australia  Ireland,  Netherlands
 Italy  Malta,  Poland
 Malta  Albania,  Italy
 Netherlands  Georgia,  Israel
 Russia  Macedonia,  Serbia
1  Belarus  Russia
 Poland  Armenia

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 European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It is unknown whether the EBU issue invitations of participation to all 56 active members like they do for the Eurovision Song Contest. At a press conference held during the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, the former contest Executive Supervisor, Vladislav Yakovlev, announced that broadcasters in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had expressed interest in participation. Additionally, during the Junior Eurovision Song Contest press conference held in Stockholm during the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, Jon Ola Sand confirmed that the EBU was in contact with a number of broadcasters regarding participation including Belgium, France, Germany and Spain.

The EBU Active Members, listed below, had made the following announcements in regards to their decisions:

Active EBU members

  •  Denmark – Right after the 2015 edition, Denmark's national broadcaster DR announced that they would "no longer" participate in further editions of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Jan Lagermand Lundme, the Entertainment President of DR, stated that the reason behind this decision was because the competition had become too much of a copy of the main Eurovision Song Contest and that the contest had strayed from its core idea—"the joy, the humor and the play".
  •  France – On 18 November 2015, it was reported that the French broadcaster France Télévisions was interested in returning to the contest. Edoardo Grassi, the Head of Delegation for France in the Eurovision Song Contest, was one of the jury members at the Maltese national selection for the 2016 Junior Eurovision, and was introduced by the hosts of the show as being the Head of Delegation for France in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The broadcaster was ultimately not among the participants for the 2016 edition.
  •  Slovenia – On 24 May 2016, the Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTVSLO) announced that they would withdraw from the contest for the first time since their debut in the 2014 edition of the contest. The broadcaster explained that the decision was made based on changes to the contest rules by the EBU, although not specifying which rule changes influenced their decision to withdraw from the competition. RTVSLO still broadcast the 2016 contest.
  •   Switzerland – Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI) confirmed on 5 July 2016 that they would not return to the contest in 2016 due to the cost of the participation.

Broadcasts

Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries
Country Broadcaster(s) Commentator(s) Ref.
 Albania TVSH, RTSH Muzikë, Radio Tirana Andri Xhahu
 Armenia Armenia 1 Avet Barseghyan
 Australia SBS One No commentary [citation needed]
 Belarus Belarus 1, Belarus 24 Julia Pertsova
 Bulgaria BNT 1, BNT HD, BNT World Elena Rosberg and Georgi Kushvaliev [citation needed]
 Cyprus CyBC 2 Kyriacos Pastides
 Georgia GPB 1TV Demetre Ergemlidze
 Ireland TG4 Eoghan McDermott [citation needed]
 Israel Channel 1 No commentary
 Italy Rai Gulp Simone Lijoi [de] and Laura Carusino Vignera [it]
 Macedonia MRT 1 Eli Tanaskovska [citation needed]
 Malta TVM No commentary [citation needed]
 Netherlands NPO Zapp Jan Smit
 Poland TVP1 and TVP Polonia Artur Orzech
 Russia Carousel Olga Shelest [ru] [citation needed]
 Serbia RTS2, RTS Sat Silvana Grujić
 Ukraine UA:Pershyi Timur Miroshnychenko
Broadcasters and commentators in non-participating countries
Country Broadcaster(s) Commentator(s) Ref.
 Germany NDR website Thomas Mohr
 New Zealand World FM 88.2 Ewan Spence, Lisa-Jayne Lewis, Sharleen Wright and Ben Robertson
 Singapore 247 Disco Heaven Ewan Spence, Lisa-Jayne Lewis, Sharleen Wright and Ben Robertson
 Slovenia TV SLO 2 Andrej Hofer [sl]
 United Kingdom Radio Six International, Fun Kids, 103 The Eye Ewan Spence, Lisa-Jayne Lewis, Sharleen Wright and Ben Robertson
 United States KCGW-LP, KLZY-LP, KMJY-LP, WCGD-LP Ewan Spence, Lisa-Jayne Lewis, Sharleen Wright and Ben Robertson

See also

  • ABU Radio Song Festival 2016
  • ABU TV Song Festival 2016
  • Eurovision Young Musicians 2016
  • Eurovision Song Contest 2016

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