Junior Eurovision 2024 – Spain to host this year’s Junior Eurovision

The EBU and RTVE are thrilled to announce that the 22nd Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Spain later this year.

Spain’s national public broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) will host for the first time in the competition’s history after placing second in Nice last year – a Contest won by France’s Zoe Clauzure singing Coeur.

The rules of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest do not require the winning broadcaster to host the following year, as in the Eurovision Song Contest, but they do receive first refusal should they wish to stage the next year’s competition. France Télévisions decided to hand over the organisation of the 2024 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. RTVE, who came second in 2023 with Sandra Valero’s Loviu, were then offered the opportunity to produce the 22nd edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest later this year.

Spain won the second edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2004.

Martin Österdahl, the Junior Eurovision Executive Supervisor said:

‘Twenty years after their Junior Eurovision Song Contest win, we’re thrilled to finally bring the Contest to Spain. We’re grateful to RTVE for accepting to host the 22nd edition of the competition which gives young artists from across Europe an incredible platform to showcase their talent. We’re very much looking forward to the fiesta that awaits in Spain later this year!’

Ana María Bordas, Spain’s Head of Delegation at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and JESC Steering Group Member said:

‘RTVE welcomes with great enthusiasm EBU’s invitation for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 to be held in Spain.

For RTVE, hosting the next JESC is another step in the effort that the public broadcaster has made in recent years to promote Eurovision in Spain and give more relevance to our music.

From now on, RTVE will work closely with the EBU and the Steering Group to organize the best JESC possible. We will employ our best creative, technical and human resources to offer a festival designed for young artists in a festive and safe environment.

We are sure that the Spanish public will also receive this announcement with great enthusiasm and will welcome the Eurovision community with open arms.’

Which city will host this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest?

Following the confirmation that Spain will host the 2024 edition, the Generalitat Valenciana, which brings together the various municipal institutions under which the political organisation of the Spanish Autonomous Community of Valencia falls, announced that it will bid to host the contest in one of the cities of the Community of Valencia, which will host Benidorm Fest, the Spanish national final of the Eurovision Song Contest, since 2022.

Following the announcement, the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and the mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, among others, expressed their willingness to host the event in their cities. The cities of Madrid, Granada and Zaragoza have also indicated their willingness to host the event.

Ana María Bordas, the head of the Spanish delegation to the competition, said that the broadcaster had received several offers when the host country was announced and that a decision would be taken in the coming weeks.

Valencia, Barcelona, Málaga, Granada and Zaragoza were reported to have submitted formal bids by mid-March 2024, but shortly afterwards Zaragoza announced its withdrawal as the planned venue was not available at the time of the tournament

In mid-April, there were unofficial reports that Barcelona was at the forefront of the selection process, with the Palau Sant Jordi considered as a possible venue, but by the end of the month the city withdrew its bid as no suitable venue was available for the end of 2024.

The host city and date of the 2024 event are expected to be officially announced soon…

Source: Eurovision.tv / JuniorEurovision.tv
Junior Eurovision 2024 – Spain – EBU graphics