Junior Athas Song Contest 03

The 3rd Junior Athas Song Contest edition will be hosted in  Armenia after Maléna won the contest with a huge amount of 291pts by getting almost the maximum points from the juries. 150/208. The host city of the 3rd edition will be revealed in the end of April/Beginning of May. Participating countries will be revealed in the upcoming weeks.

## Host City Information

**Yerevan** is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country. It has been the capital since 1918, the fourteenth in the history of Armenia and the seventh located in or around the Ararat Plain. The city also serves as the seat of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese, which is the largest diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the oldest dioceses in the world.

The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BCE, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BCE by King Argishti I of Urartu at the western extreme of the Ararat Plain. Erebuni was "designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital." By the late ancient Armenian Kingdom, new capital cities were established and Yerevan declined in importance. Under Iranian and Russian rule, it was the center of the Erivan Khanate from 1736 to 1828 and the Erivan Governorate from 1850 to 1917, respectively. After World War I, Yerevan became the capital of the First Republic of Armenia as thousands of survivors of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire arrived in the area. The city expanded rapidly during the 20th century while Armenia was a part of the Soviet Union. In a few decades, Yerevan was transformed from a provincial town within the Russian Empire to Armenia's principal cultural, artistic, and industrial center, as well as becoming the seat of national government.

With the growth of the Armenian economy, Yerevan has undergone major transformation. Much construction has been done throughout the city since the early 2000s, and retail outlets such as restaurants, shops, and street cafés, which were rare during Soviet times, have multiplied. As of 2011, the population of Yerevan was 1,060,138, just over 35% of Armenia's total population. According to the official estimate of 2022, the current population of the city is 1,092,800. Yerevan was named the 2012 World Book Capital by UNESCO. Yerevan is an associate member of Eurocities.

Of the notable landmarks of Yerevan, Erebuni Fortress is considered to be the birthplace of the city, the Katoghike Tsiranavor church is the oldest surviving church of Yerevan and Saint Gregory Cathedral is the largest Armenian cathedral in the world, Tsitsernakaberd is the official memorial to the victims of the Armenian genocide. The city is home to several opera houses, theatres, museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions. Yerevan Opera Theatre is the main spectacle hall of the Armenian capital, the National Gallery of Armenia is the largest art museum in Armenia and shares a building with the History Museum of Armenia, and the Matenadaran repository contains one of the largest depositories of ancient books and manuscripts in the world.

## Rules of the contest

The singer needs to be 8 to 17 years old atleast in the music video or the song wont be allowed to use.

The singer also needs to have connections to the country. Like of their relatives can be from that country

JESC and NF songs are forbidden in the contest so you cant use them.

Countries which are part of the ASBU union can participate meaning that countries that havent participated in the adult version atleast once are not welcomed to the contest.

## Participating Countries

Currently 16 countries have confirmed their participation in the third edition.  Andorra,  England,  Germany,  Philippines,  Spain and  Taiwan confirmed that they will be making their debut this edition. Meanwhile  Italy and  Malta has confirmed their returning after one edition absence.

* Andorra
* Armenia
* Belarus
* Canada
* England
* France
* Germany
* Georgia
* Italy
* Malta
* Norway
* Philippines
* Poland
* Romania
* South Korea
* Spain
* Taiwan