Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 20th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, held on 11 December 2022 at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, and presented by Iveta Mukuchyan, Garik Papoyan, Karina Ignatyan, and Robin the Robot. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV), who staged the event after winning the 2021 contest for Armenia with the song "Qami Qami" by Maléna. This was the second time that the Junior Eurovision Song Contest was hosted in Armenia, the first being in 2011.

Broadcasters from sixteen countries participated in the contest. The United Kingdom returned after a sixteen-year absence, while Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Germany, and Russia did not take part after participating in the previous edition.

The winner was France with the song "Oh Maman!" by Lissandro. This was France's second victory in the contest, having last won in 2020. Host country Armenia, Georgia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom completed the top five, with this being the highest placement for Ireland to date. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan achieved their lowest placing to date.

Location

The contest took place at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex in Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia. The venue previously hosted the 2011 contest. It was also the third consecutive time the contest is held in a capital city. The budget for the event was ֏5 billion (€11.9 million), of which ֏2.3 billion came from the Armenian government's emergency fund.

Bidding phase and host city selection

Armenia's hosting had been confirmed by the EBU on 21 December 2021, following their win at the 2021 contest two days before. Originally, unlike in the Eurovision Song Contest, the winning country did not receive the automatic rights to host the next contest. The venue was revealed on 17 February 2022 during a cabinet meeting of the Armenian government, where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made the announcement. Pashinyan also mentioned that the government had allocated funds to the venue to prepare for the event. It was already reported earlier in that week that Yerevan would be the host city.

Participants

On 26 September 2022, the EBU announced that 16 countries would participate in the contest. After a 16-year hiatus, the United Kingdom returned to the contest, with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) replacing ITV, who previously organised the country’s participation in the contest between 2003 and 2005. Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Germany and Russia withdrew after having participated in 2021. Despite confirming its intention to participate in the 2022 contest, Bulgaria would end up withdrawing before the deadline for unknown reasons. Meanwhile, Russia and its broadcasters were indefinitely suspended from the EBU in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with their National Final being cancelled in July 2022.

Prior to the contest, a digital compilation album featuring all the songs from the 2022 contest was put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by Universal Music on 30 November 2022.

Production

Visual design

The reveal of the contest's theme art had been delayed due to the September clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In a press release, AMPTV stated that "preparations for the contest are ongoing, and according to the schedule, it was no longer possible to change the deadlines", while expressing hope that the contest would be held in peaceful conditions. The theme art and slogan for the contest, "Spin the Magic", was later revealed on 26 September 2022. The artwork features an Armenian-styled spinning top as the main motif.

Postcards

Contestants were featured in "postcard" video introductions, set in different locations across Armenia. Each began with a short clip of the upcoming performer using the Armenian-style spinning top on a particular piece of structure. Following that, a stream of light in the colours of the upcoming country's flag emanated from the structure and traveled to the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex, signalling the start of the upcoming performance.

• Netherlands – Zvartnots Cathedral
• Poland – Yerevan 2800th Anniversary Park
• Kazakhstan – Republic Square
• Malta – East entrance of the Republic Square metro station
• Italy – Temple of Garni
• France – Mother Armenia
• Albania – One of the oldest houses near Hanrapetutyan Street, Yerevan
• Georgia – 50th Anniversary Monument to Soviet Armenia
• Ireland – A fountain in Republic Square
• North Macedonia – The Matenadaran
• Spain – Cafesjian Center for the Arts
• United Kingdom – Monument to David of Sassoun
• Portugal – Yerevan Opera House
• Serbia – A fountain in the Yerevan 2800th Anniversary Park
• Armenia – Geghard Monastery
• Ukraine – Yerevan Botanical Garden

Presenters

Iveta Mukuchyan, Garik Papoyan and Karina Ignatyan were the presenters of the show. Ignatyan was the Armenian entrant in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019, and Mukuchyan was the Armenian entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The hosts were revealed on 18 November. Robin the Robot, a robot with artificial emotions developed by Armenian IT company Expper Technologies, was revealed as the guest presenter on 1 December.

Contest overview

The event took place on 11 December 2022 at 19:00 AMT (16:00 CET). Sixteen countries participated, with the running order published on 5 December 2022. All the countries competing were eligible to vote with the jury vote, as well as participating and non-participating countries under an aggregated international online vote, eligible to vote. France won with 203 points, also winning the jury vote. Armenia came second with 180 points, with Georgia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, who won the online vote, completing the top five. Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, and Malta occupied the bottom five positions.

The opening of the show featured the traditional flag parade, with all participants performing the common song "Spin the Magic". During the interval, Maléna performed her new single "Can’t Feel Anything", followed by Rosa Linn performing "Snap", with which she represented Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. Closing the interval, ten previous Junior Eurovision winners performed their winning songs, for the occasion of the 20th edition of the event, alongside Maléna: Bzikebi (2008), Ralf Mackenbach (2009), Vladimir Arzumanyan (2010), Candy (2011), Gaia Cauchi (2013), Vincenzo Cantiello (2014), Destiny Chukunyere (2015), Mariam Mamadashvili (2016), Viki Gabor (2019), and Valentina (2020). The other eight winning songs were performed by the Tavush Diocese Children’s Choir.

As the event began, the United Kingdom's Freya Skye was unable to sing live for the rehearsal that was filmed before the voting opened for medical reasons, and playback was used. The issue continued into the jury show, where footage from the first rehearsal was used as a replacement. During the jury show, camera and in-ear device issues were reported for Serbia's Katarina Savić, who was allowed to perform again after the scheduled final performance of Ukraine's Zlata Dziunka. On the day of the contest, Savić did not perform live due to medical issues, and footage from her jury show performance was used instead.

Spokespersons

The 12 points from the juries were announced live by a spokesperson from each country. Countries that did not provide their own spokesperson had their 12 points announced by a former winner or participant.[additional citation(s) needed]

1. Netherlands–Ralf Mackenbach
2. Poland–Viki Gabor
3. Kazakhstan–Hallash
4. Malta–Gaia Cauchi
5. Italy–Vincenzo Cantiello
6. France–Valentina
7. Albania–Mariam Gvaladze
8. Georgia–Niko Kajaia
9. Ireland–Holly Lennon
10. North Macedonia–Mariam Mamadashvili
11. Spain–Juan Diego Álvarez
12. United Kingdom–Tabitha Joy
13. Portugal–Emily Alves
14. Serbia–Petar Aničić
15. Armenia–Maléna
16. Ukraine–Mykola Oliinyk

Detailed voting results

Below is a summary of all 12 points received from each country's professional juries.

Broadcasts

See also

• Eurovision Song Contest 2022
• Eurovision Young Musicians 2022

Notes and references

Notes

External links