The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has officially announced in conjunction with the Georgian Public Broadcaster GPB that the 2017 Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Georgia. The 15th Junior Eurovision goes to Georgia after their 2016 win with Mariam Mamadashvili and the song Mzeo. The broadcaster was given first opportunity to accept or decline the right to host the contest, and they accepted the duty, making this the first time the contest goes to Georgia.
Jon Ola Sand has commented on the contest going to Georgia, saying, ‘The EBU are delighted to announce that GPB will be the host broadcaster of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017. As Georgia has won the contest the most times we are pleased that we can finally bring Europe’s favourite youth show to a new country that has shown such dedication to the Contest. Last year’s competition showed that Junior Eurovision Song Contest is an invaluable platform for public service broadcasters to support their young talent, and we have full confidence that GPB will host another great show this November.’
You may recall that 2016 was not the first time that Georgia had won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Since the contest began in 2003, Georgia has actually won the contest a record three times. Unlike Eurovision, for many years of the Junior contest, the winning country didn’t necessarily host the following year, until recently where the winning broadcasters were offered the opportunity and had the first call whether to accept or decline. As such, this will be the first time Georgia has hosted a Eurovision event.
More details about dates, venue, tickets and accreditation for the 2017 contest will be released in due time.
