90 days until another Armenian Junior Eurovision arrives in Yerevan – preliminary summary for 2022

Could Germany’s withdrawal in 2022 be a signal?

Germany’s participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which made its debut at the last edition, was not revealed until mid-August when the German ESC Kompakt published an article about the participation. The announcement of the withdrawal by the NDR and the children’s channel KiKa is contained in a statement, which is published without changes in translation.

“NDR and KiKA have participated in the Junior ESC with great commitment and enthusiasm in the past two years, despite many Corona-related adversities. This year we want to take a creative break in consultation with KiKA. This also applies against the background that the Foreign Office has issued partial travel warnings for Armenia. Next year we want to take part in the JESC again. For all fans, the JESC will be broadcast as usual from Yerevan on KiKA.”

The announcement, as interpreted by OurVision International, not only suggests that future German participations will be adapted in terms of content and form, but also that the selection methodology for the productions submitted may be modified. The latter is supported by the information on the ESC Kompakt website that a closer link with KiKA’s hit format “Dein Song” (Your Song) will be established as early as 2023, but that the design and format may take longer to adapt.

However, in addition to these internal reasons, we cannot leave without mentioning the statement on security risks. Not only the German statement but also the press reports from several other countries in August confirm the flare-up of the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, which could slow down peace talks and increase the risk of another war in the mountainous region.

This may also raise the question of Azerbaijan’s participation: its 2022 bid is in question not only because of the above but also because of the history of the 2021 Paris event. The EBU has asked İTV for clarification on the problems with the Azerbaijani commentary on the 2021 Junior Eurovision: during the live broadcast, Azerbaijani commentators “interrupted” the entire performance of Malena, who was competing in Armenian colours, by talking, and after Armenia’s victory was announced, they only talked about Azerbaijan’s previous victories, avoiding Armenia’s name.

We have also contacted the rights-holder EBU about these issues, as well as the hosting of the 2022 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and their answers to our questions will be published as soon as their message arrives.

Illustration: JuniorEurovision.tv
Source: JuniorEurovision.tv, ESCXtra, ESC Kompakt / OurVision International