United Kingdom in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

United Kingdom in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
United Kingdom
Participating broadcasterBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC; 2022–2023)
Former members
  • ITV (2003–2005)
Participation summary
Appearances5
First appearance2003
Last appearance2023
Highest placement2nd: 2004
Participation history
External links
CBBC page
United Kingdom's page at JuniorEurovision.tv Edit this at Wikidata
For the most recent participation see
United Kingdom in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023

The United Kingdom first participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest at the inaugural 2003 edition which took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. ITV, a member organisation of the United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting (UKIB) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), was responsible for the selection process of their participation from 2003 to 2005. The United Kingdom used a national selection format, broadcasting a show entitled Junior Eurovision Song Contest: The British Final, for their participation at the contests. The first representative to participate for the nation at the 2003 contest was Tom Morley with the song "My Song For The World", which finished in third place out of sixteen participating entries, achieving a score of one hundred and eighteen points. The United Kingdom withdrew from competing after the 2005 contest, but returned to the contest in 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia, with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) replacing ITV as the country's broadcaster. The country withdrew again from the 2024 contest in Madrid.

History

[edit]

The United Kingdom is one of the sixteen countries to have made its debut at the inaugural Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003, which took place on 15 November 2003 at the Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark.[1] Child-singer, Tom Morley, was the first participant to represent the United Kingdom with the song "My Song For The World",[2] which finished in third place out of sixteen participating entries, achieving a score of one hundred and eighteen points.[3] Morley and Cory Spedding (2004) sang both for the peace in the world and Joni Fuller (2005) described her feelings. The country's best result at the contest was placing second in 2004 with the song "The Best is Yet to Come". The remaining British entrant finished in fourteenth position in 2005.

In 2003, the contest was broadcast live on the main channel ITV1,[4] however the broadcaster decided to relegate it and the national final to digital channel ITV2 for the next two years due to poor viewing figures that year, before their complete withdrawal in 2006. A delayed broadcast, consisting of highlights, was aired the following afternoon on the main channel in 2004 and 2005.[5][6] The inaugural contest, broadcast live on ITV1, averaged 5 million viewers.[7] 1.9 million watched the 2004 contest on delay on ITV1 (221,000 watched the live coverage on ITV2).[8][better source needed] In 2005, the contest was watched by 700,000 viewers on ITV1 (down 63.16% compared with 2004 viewing figures), with 171,000 watching live on ITV2 (down 22.62% compared with 2004).[9]

The 2004 contest originally should have been organised by Carlton Television for ITV in Manchester.[10] In May 2003, it was confirmed that the UK would take part in Copenhagen and host the next edition.[11] ITV then announced in May 2004 that due to financial and scheduling reasons, the contest would in fact not take place in the United Kingdom after all.[12] In August 2004, it was reported that Granada Television, who would have co-produced the show with Carlton, had decided to pull out of the deal claiming that the original allocated budget of €1,500,000 to produce the contest was too small. The EBU reportedly offered a further €900,000 of funding to produce the contest, but ITV stated that it would have cost almost €2,500,000 to do so, and they asked the EBU to find a new host broadcaster.[13] It is also thought that another factor to their decision was the previous years' audience ratings for ITV which were below the expected amount.[7]

Radio broadcasts

[edit]

On 21 November 2013, it was revealed that Edinburgh-based 98.8 Castle FM (a non EBU member) would broadcast the 2013 contest live to listeners in Scotland.[14] The broadcasting rights had been offered by the EBU to its members, however when no-one in the UK took up the offer, Castle FM – previously known as Leith FM – moved in.[15] The commentators were Ewan Spence and Luke Fisher.

It was announced on 16 October 2014 that the 2014 contest would be broadcast on a radio station across the United Kingdom.[16] Five local radio stations broadcast the contest, one in England (103 The Eye, delayed) and Wales (Oystermouth Radio), and three in Scotland (K107 in Kircaldy, Radio Six International in Glasgow and Shore Radio in Edinburgh).[17] Cotswold FM, Fun Kids, Oystermouth Radio, Radio Six International and Shore Radio transmitted the 2015 contest live with commentary again provided by Ewan Spence.[18]

On 9 November 2016, Radio Six International announced that they would broadcast the 2016 contest live.[19] Ewan Spence, Lisa-Jayne Lewis, Sharleen Wright and Ben Robertson provided the commentary for the radio stations Radio Six International, Fun Kids and 103 The Eye.[20]

Welsh debut

[edit]
Main article: Wales in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

The Welsh broadcaster Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C) had shown interest in participating for the UK in 2008, hoping to share the Welsh language with a wider audience. Before the digital switchover, the contest would therefore be a bilingual broadcast that would be broadcast in Wales on analogue, and on S4C Digidol in the rest of the UK.[21] In the end, S4C chose not to broadcast the contest. S4C announced on 9 May 2018 that they would debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 to be held in Minsk, Belarus.[22][23] However, S4C withdrew from the contest in 2020, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for their withdrawal, and have not returned to the contest since.[24]

It was also reported that Scottish broadcaster BBC Alba had also been in talks with the EBU to enable Scotland to participate in 2020, having previously debuted in Eurovision Choir in 2019. However, on 29 June 2019, BBC Alba announced that they would not debut in 2020.[25][26]

UK return

[edit]

In July 2020, it was reported that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) were considering participation in the upcoming contest in Warsaw.[27] The UK did not appear on the official list of participants as released by the EBU on 8 September 2020.[28] At a Junior Eurovision press event in May 2021, the EBU stated that they were working to bring the United Kingdom back to the contest, possibly for the 2021 edition.[29] However, once again the United Kingdom did not appear on the final list of participants for the 2021 contest which took place in Paris. On 17 December 2021, at a press conference between France Télévisions and the executive supervisor of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest Martin Österdahl, Österdahl stated that he was positive about talks between the European Broadcasting Union and the BBC about a potential return of the UK to the contest in the future.[30] On 11 January 2022, it was speculated that the BBC were looking to return to the contest in 2023, the year marking the 20th anniversary of the first contest.[31] On 25 August 2022, it was confirmed that the United Kingdom would return to the contest in 2022, with the BBC replacing ITV as the country's broadcaster.[32] The BBC internally selected Freya Skye to represent the United Kingdom with the song "Lose My Head" after an audition process held by the broadcaster. The British return proved successful, with Skye placing fifth with 146 points, winning the online vote.[33] In 2023, the BBC continued the internal process, selecting girl group Stand Uniqu3 to represent the United Kingdom in Nice, France with the song "Back To Life". At the contest, the UK improved on the fifth place position, placing fourth overall with 160 points, the best result for the United Kingdom since 2004.[34]

Second withdrawal

[edit]

Despite two top-5 placings in 2022 and 2023, on 21 June 2024, the BBC announced that the United Kingdom would withdraw from the 2024 contest.[35][36] According to an article posted by The Euro Trip Podcast on the same day, a spokesperson from the BBC stated the following, "We sometimes have to make difficult decisions and the BBC will not participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest this year. We would like to thank the artists and creative teams who represented the UK for the last two years."[37] Additionally, the CBBC channel, which broadcast the 2022 and 2023 contest, is scheduled to close in 2025 and be replaced with an online service, which could tie in with the withdrawal as the contest is a live event and requires a continuous live broadcast.[38] It has also been suggested that low viewership of the junior contest in the UK, which moved from BBC One to BBC Two in 2023, could also be a reason that supported the country's withdrawal in 2024.

Participation overview

[edit]
Table key
2 Second place
3 Third place
Participants[39]
Year Artist Song Language Place Points
2003 Tom Morley "My Song for the World" English 3 118
2004 Cory Spedding "The Best Is Yet to Come" English 2 140
2005 Joni Fuller "How Does It Feel?" English 14 28
2022 Freya Skye "Lose My Head" English 5 146
2023 Stand Uniqu3 "Back to Life" English 4 160
[edit]

Heads of delegation

[edit]
Year Head of delegation Ref.
2022–2023 Lee Smithurst
[40][41]

Commentators and spokespersons

[edit]

The contests are broadcast online worldwide through the official Junior Eurovision Song Contest website junioreurovision.tv and YouTube. In 2015, the online broadcasts featured commentary in English by junioreurovision.tv editor Luke Fisher and 2011 Bulgarian Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrant Ivan Ivanov.[42]

Between 2003 and 2005, the British broadcaster, ITV, sent their own commentator to each contest in order to provide commentary in the English language. From 2013 to 2020, the contest was broadcast by various non-participating radio stations. From 2022, the BBC broadcast the contest simultaneously on CBBC and BBC One, whilst in 2023, the BBC moved the contest to BBC Two in a simultaneous broadcast with CBBC. Spokespersons are also chosen by the national broadcaster in order to announce the awarding points from United Kingdom.

The table below list the details of each commentator and spokesperson since 2003.

Year Television Radio Spokesperson Ref.
Channel Commentator Station Commentator
2003 ITV1 Mark Durden-Smith and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson No broadcast Sasha Stevens
[43]
2004 ITV2 (live)
ITV1 (delayed)		 Matt Brown Charlie Allan
[43]
2005 Michael Underwood Vicky Gordon
[43]
2006–2012 No broadcast Did not participate —
2013 98.8 Castle FM Ewan Spence and Luke Fisher
[44][15]
2014 Various radio stations[a] Ewan Spence
[45]
2015
[18]
2016 Ewan Spence, Lisa-Jayne Lewis, Sharleen Wright
and Ben Robertson
[20][19]
2017 Radio Six International Ewan Spence and Lisa-Jayne Lewis
[46]
2018 Ewan Spence, Sharleen Wright and Ben Robertson
[47]
2019 Fun Kids Ewan Spence
[48]
2020 Radio Six International Ewan Spence and Ellie Chalkley
[49]
2021 No broadcast —
2022 CBBC, BBC One Lauren Layfield and Hrvy Tabitha Joy
[50][51]
2023 CBBC, BBC Two Charlie Poissenot
[52][53]
2024 No broadcast Did not participate
[54]

See also

[edit]

Notes and references

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ In 2014, radio coverage was provided by 103 The Eye, K107, Oystermouth Radio, Radio Six International and Shore Radio. In 2015 by Cotswold FM, Fun Kids, Oystermouth Radio, Radio Six International and Shore Radio. Radio Six International, Fun Kids and 103 The Eye did so again in 2016.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ García, Belén (7 September 2015). "#BestOfJESC – Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003". esc-plus.com. ESC+Plus. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  2. ^ Escudero, Victor M. (9 November 2012). "Remember the first ever Junior Eurovision Song Contest?". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Scoreboard". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 15 November 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Gair Rhydd - Issue 749". issuu.com. Gair Rhydd. 10 November 2003. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Gair Rhydd - Issue 775". issuu.com. Gair Rhydd. 15 November 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Gair Rhydd - Issue 800". issuu.com. Gair Rhydd. 21 November 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  7. ^ a b Cozens, Claire (17 November 2003). "JESC UK ratings". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
  8. ^ "Junior Eurovision Song History and Rules of the competition". esckaz.com. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Eurovision Viewing figures Junior 2005 available". ESCToday.com. 3 March 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Confirmation of Manchester as original host". European Broadcasting Union. 16 November 2003. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  11. ^ "Juniors get Eurovision chance". May 30, 2003. Retrieved 15 October 2020 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  12. ^ "'Junior contest not to take place in Manchester'". ESC Today. 13 May 2004. Archived from the original on 28 May 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
  13. ^ "Eurovision United Kingdom: EBU junior budget too small". ESCToday.com. August 24, 2004. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  14. ^ Granger, Anthony (21 November 2013). "Kiev'13: Kiev'13: UK, Greece & Kosovo To Broadcast JESC". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Castle FM coup as it secures rights to broadcast Junior Eurovision Song Contest". allmediascotland.com. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  16. ^ "Increased International Interest in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  17. ^ "JESC'14: Full List Of Radio Broadcasts". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  18. ^ a b Spence, Ewan (13 November 2015). "Listen To Junior Eurovision On Your Radio". ESCInsight. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  19. ^ a b "United Kingdom: Radio Six International To Broadcast Junior Eurovision 2016". Eurovoix.com. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  20. ^ a b Wight, Sharleen (18 November 2016). "Junior Eurovision Live On Your Radio This Sunday". ESCInsight. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  21. ^ Kuipers, Michael (2008-04-20). "Junior Eurovision 2008: United Kingdom to return to JESC?". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  22. ^ Granger, Anthony (9 May 2018). "Wales: Debuts in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  23. ^ "Chwilio am Seren". junioreurovision.cymru. S4C. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  24. ^ Farren, Neil (14 July 2020). "Wales: Withdraws From Junior Eurovision". Eurovoix. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  25. ^ Purcell, Owen (29 June 2019). "Scotland will not debut in Junior Eurovision 2019". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Scotland: No Debut At Junior Eurovision In 2020". Eurovoix. 21 April 2020.
  27. ^ García, Belén (2020-07-16). "UK: Is BBC considering Junior Eurovision 2020 participation?". ESCplus. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  28. ^ "13 countries will 'Move the World' at Junior Eurovision 2020". Junior Eurovision. 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  29. ^ Washak, James (21 May 2021). "United Kingdom: EBU Working to Get the UK Back in Junior Eurovision". Eurovoix.
  30. ^ "🇬🇧 United Kingdom: "It's Possible We Can Get The BBC To Join Junior Eurovision" – Martin Österdahl". eurovoix. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  31. ^ "🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Returns to Junior Eurovision in 2023 With BBC?". eurovoix. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  32. ^ "United Kingdom returns to Junior Eurovision". Junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 25 August 2022.
  33. ^ "Results of the Grand Final of Yerevan 2022". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  34. ^ "Results of the Final of Nice 2023". Junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023.
  35. ^ Andersson, Rafaell (2024-06-21). "🇬🇧 United Kingdom: BBC Withdraws from Junior Eurovision". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  36. ^ Mancheño, Daniel Mangas Diez y José Miguel (2024-06-21). "Reino Unido no formará parte de Eurovisión Junior 2024 en Madrid". ESCplus España (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  37. ^ Rowe, Callum (2024-06-21). "United Kingdom withdraws from Junior Eurovision". The Euro Trip Podcast. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  38. ^ "BBC to move CBBC and BBC Four online". BBC News. 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  39. ^ "Country Profile: United Kingdom". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  40. ^ "United Kingdom confirms participation in Junior Eurovision 2022 as contest comes to BBC for first time". BBC Media Centre. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  41. ^ "The BBC will broadcast the 2023 Junior Eurovision Song Contest live from France, as the UK confirms participation". BBC Media Centre. 29 August 2023.
  42. ^ Fisher, Luke James (21 November 2015). "Tonight: Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015!". Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Bulgaria 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  43. ^ a b c "Junior Eurovision Song Contest". UKGameshows. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  44. ^ Fisher, Luke James (21 November 2013). "Three more countries to carry 2013 event". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  45. ^ Lockett, Katherine (13 November 2014). "It's a 'TEN' for Radio!". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 25 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  46. ^ "Junior Eurovision'17: Where To Watch the Show". Eurovoix.com. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  47. ^ "Radio Six International to Broadcast Junior Eurovision 2018 Across The Airwaves". Eurovoix. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  48. ^ Granger, Anthony (21 November 2019). "United Kingdom: Fun Kids to Air Junior Eurovision 2019 Live". eurovoix.com.
  49. ^ Granger, Anthony (28 November 2020). "Radio Six International is broadcasting the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020". eurovoix.com.
  50. ^ "Lauren Layfield and HRVY revealed as UK Commentators for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022". bbc.co.uk. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  51. ^ Hogan, Michael (11 December 2022). "'Homework will be a nice break from performing': meet the stars of Junior Eurovision". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  52. ^ "Girl group STAND UNIQU3 to represent the UK at The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with song Back To Life". BBC Media Centre. 19 October 2023.
  53. ^ "Lauren Layfield and HRVY revealed as UK Commentators for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  54. ^ Rowe, Callum (2024-06-21). "United Kingdom withdraws from Junior Eurovision". The Euro Trip Podcast. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
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