Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Presenter(s)
 Host broadcaster
 Interval act
 Debuting countries
 Winner

The **Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015** was the thirteenth annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and took place, for the first time, in Bulgaria on 21 November 2015 and was held at the Arena Armeec in Sofia. Poli Genova, former representative of Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 and the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, hosted the show.

A total of seventeen countries participated, with Australia and Ireland making their debuts. Albania and F.Y.R. Macedonia returned after being absent since the 2012 and 2013 Contest, respectively. Croatia and Cyprus withdrew after returning in the 2014 edition, while Sweden withdrew for the first time since the 2014 edition

The winner of the contest was Destiny Chukunyere, who represented Malta with the song "Not My Soul". This was the country's second victory in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, having won two years previously. This contest marked the second time a country won twice in a three-year period (following Belarus winning twice in a period of three years between 2005 and 2007). The country's 185-point victory also achieved the highest amount of points received by any entry in the history of the Contest, beating Spain's record of 171 points set during the 2014 edition

### **Bidding phase**

Following Italy's win at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014, the European Broadcasting Union had given the Italian broadcaster RAI the first refusal to host the 2015 contest. However, on 15 January 2015, RAI declined the right to host the contest. The Executive Supervisor for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, Vladislav Yakovlev, praised the Italian broadcaster RAI for their time looking into the possibilities of hosting, even though they made their debut appearance in 2014, and further explained how the EBU were in a lucky position to have received bids from two countries.

The EBU announced later that day that they had received bids from two countries to host the contest; those countries being Bulgaria and Malta, who finished in second and fourth places respectively in 2014. Bulgarian broadcaster BNT confirmed on 15 January they had submitted a bid to host the 2015 contest. The national broadcaster for Malta, Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), stated prior to the 2014 contest that they would host.

## Format

### **Graphic design**

 File:JESC 2015 stage.jpg
On 22 May 2015, a press conference devoted to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest was held in Vienna during the organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. At the press conference, the slogan for the 2015 Junior contest was revealed to be #Discover. The slogan was selected to signify how the Junior Eurovision Song Contest endeavours to find new melodies, explore new people and create links between individuals.

On 23 June 2015, the EBU in conjunction with the host broadcaster BNT, presented the official logo for the 2015 edition, during the Steering Group meeting held in Sofia. Viara Ankova, the Director General of the host broadcaster explained that the logo's concept was inspired behind the idea of a seeded head of a dandelion being blown, "something that everyone has done as a child".

> The logo shows how Bulgaria’s young people are the seeds of the future; venturing out from the safety of tradition to explore and discover a new future for themselves and for us all.
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> *- Viara Ankova, General Director of BNT*
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The postcards used to introduce each competing nation during the show were built around the concept of selfies. The postcards featured the competing artists sending their selfie to a group of three teenagers in Bulgaria, which would then inspire their adventures. Different sights and cities were showcased with the teenagers documenting their journey through their own selfies and sending them to the competing artist.

## Participating countries

On 7 October 2015, it was confirmed that seventeen countries would take part in the contest. Australia and Ireland made their debut, Albania returned after a two-year absence and Macedonia returned after a one-year absence. Croatia and Cyprus withdrew after returning in the 2014 edition, while Sweden withdrew for the first time since 2008. It was the first time since 2007, that 17 countries would take part.

## 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. The EBU Active Members listed below have made the announcements regards their decisions.

### **Active EBU members**

* Cyprus – On 29 June 2015, the national broadcaster of Cyprus, Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), revealed that they would not participate in the 2015 contest due to lack of funds.
* France – France 2 announced on 24 June 2015 that they had no plans to return to the contest, however the broadcaster sent a delegation to Bulgaria in order to observe the 2015 edition.
* Germany – Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) were observers at last year's contest. On 2 June 2015, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) stated that they had not ruled out a début in the 2015 contest. On 1 July 2015, ARD consortium member NDR launched an online poll to decide whether or not Germany should participate in Junior Eurovision, which would be broadcast on their children's station, KiKa (which is a joint venture of ARD and ZDF). Germany was originally on the list of participants for the inaugural contest and again in 2004 but later withdrew. The debut of the country in the competition didn't materialize. However, on 4 November 2015, it was announced that NDR would broadcast a livestream of the contest on their Eurovision website for the first time.
* Greece – Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) stated on 11 June 2015 that they were undecided about returning to the Junior contest but are "willing to examine interesting projects". However, the country was not among the 2015 edition's list of participants.
* Romania – On 4 June 2015, Televisiunea Românâ (TVR) revealed that due to lack of interest, Romania's is not participation in the 2015 contest would be unlikely.
* Spain – Several media outlets reported that Televisión Española (TVE) was working on returning to the contest in 2015. However, these claims were not confirmed by the broadcaster. Ultimately the country was not among the 2015 edition's list of participants.
* Sweden – Sveriges Television (SVT) announced on 29 June 2015 that the broadcaster would withdraw from the contest for one year to focus on new youth-focused projects and hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.