Wales in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Wales in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Wales
Participating broadcasterSianel 4 Cymru (S4C)
Participation summary
Appearances2
First appearance2018
Last appearance2019
Highest placement18th: 2019
Participation history
External links
Wales's page at JuniorEurovision.tv Edit this at Wikidata

Wales participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 and 2019. Welsh broadcaster Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C) has been responsible for the nation's participation in the contest.

In 2018 and 2019, S4C selected their artist through the televised national final Chwilio am Seren (English: Search for a Star), with the song selected internally.[1] In both years, the competition was held at Venue Cymru in Llandudno.[2]

Although Wales has English as a co-official language, their entries were sung primarily in Welsh due to being represented by a Welsh-language broadcaster.

History

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

Wales previously took part in the contest as part of the United Kingdom between 2003 and 2005, with ITV being responsible for their participation. S4C had also shown interest in participating in the 2008 contest in Limassol, Cyprus, but in the end decided against participating.[3]

S4C announced that they would debut in the 2018 contest on 9 May 2018.[4] The country was represented by the song "Perta" performed by Manw, placing last in a field of 20 songs with 29 points. Wales participated in the 2019 contest, represented by the song "Calon yn Curo" performed by Erin Mai and finished 18th with 35 points.

2019 was the last year Wales participated in the contest. S4C cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for not participating in subsequent editions.[5]

On 25 August 2022, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) announced that the United Kingdom would return to the contest in 2022 after a sixteen-year absence.[6]

On 16 November 2024, S4C confirmed that it did not participate in the 2024 contest due to the BBC's late withdrawal, leaving it with insufficient time to organise an entry and form a delegation. However, a spokesperson for S4C stated that there is a prospect for Welsh participation in 2025, with 2018 representative Manw calling for a return to the contest.[7]

Participation overview

[edit]
Manw in red standing on stage with four dancers in black standing diagonally behind her
Manw in Minsk (2018)
Close-up of Erin Mai in black with a red skirt, holding a microphone and reaching her other arm out
Erin Mai in Gliwice (2019)
Table key
◁ Last place
Year Artist Song Language Place Points
2018 Manw "Perta" Welsh 20 ◁ 29
2019 Erin Mai "Calon yn curo (Heart Beating)" Welsh 18 35

Commentators and spokespersons

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The Welsh broadcaster, S4C, sent their own commentators to each contest in order to provide commentary in the Welsh language. Spokespersons were also chosen by the national broadcaster in order to announce the awarding points from Wales. The table below list the details of each commentator and spokesperson since 2018.

Year Commentator Spokesperson Ref.
2018 Trystan Ellis-Morris (Welsh) and Stifyn Parri (English) Gwen Rowley
[8]
2019 Cadi Morgan
[9][10]
2020–2024 No broadcast Did not participate

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Granger, Anthony (9 May 2018). "Wales: Debuts in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Manw is the winner of Chwilio am Seren Junior Eurovision". S4C Press. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  3. ^ Kuipers, Michael (20 April 2008). "Junior Eurovision 2008: United Kingdom to return to JESC?". ESCToday. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  4. ^ "Chwilio am Seren". junioreurovision.cymru. S4C. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  5. ^ Farren, Neil (14 July 2020). "Wales: Withdraws From Junior Eurovision". Eurovoix. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  6. ^ "United Kingdom returns to Junior Eurovision". Junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 25 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Junior Eurovision: Cymru yn 'colli cyfle' wrth beidio cystadlu eleni" [Junior Eurovision: Wales are 'missing an opportunity' by not competing this year]. S4C (in Welsh). 16 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  8. ^ Herbert, Emily (22 November 2018). "Wales: Trystan Ellis-Morris to Commentate on Junior Eurovision 2018". Eurovoix. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  9. ^ Granger, Anthony (22 November 2019). "Wales: Trystan Ellis-Morris to Commentate on Junior Eurovision 2019". eurovoix.com.
  10. ^ Filippidou, Ifigeneia (24 November 2019). "These are the Junior Eurovision 2019 spokespersons". esc-plus.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
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