The guide to making the most of Eurovision Junior 2020

Valentina, candidate of France for Eurovision Junior 2020. -

• The 18th edition of Eurovision Junior, a song contest reserved for 9-14 year olds, will be broadcast on Sunday at 5 p.m. on France 2.

• Twelve countries are in the running, including France represented by Valentina, 11, and her song

  J'imagine

  .

• Voting will be open on Friday on the Eurovision Junior website.

Eurovision at tea time.

Sunday, the “Junior” version, reserved for 9-14 year olds, of the song contest will be broadcast at 5 pm on France 2. Stéphane Bern and Carla, French candidate for 2019, will provide comments.

Here's what you need to know to be on point before the fun begins.

Who represents France?

If Eurovision Junior is in its 18th edition, this is only the fourth time that France has participated.

Her record is rather brilliant: 6th in 2004 with Thomas Pontier, 2nd in 2018 with Angelina and 5th last year with Carla.

This year she is represented by Valentina.

The 11-year-old singer, member of the New Generation Kids United, will sing

, with which she intends to "send a positive message and bring joy back to this period".

Where is it happening ?

This edition is obviously not like the others because of the health crisis.

Poland is the host country.

The main stage is installed in Warsaw, but no candidate will make the trip, except for Ala Tracz, the local representative.

All the competing artists will have recorded their performances in advance under live conditions and all will have been housed in the same boat with the same possibilities and technical constraints, without a spectator.

“Everyone leaves with the same chances.

There will also be no public in Poland, ”underlines Stéphane Bern while Alexandra Redde-Amiel, head of delegation and patron of entertainment for France Teles, is sure that“ the magic will operate when the competition begins ”.

Who are the other candidates?

This year, only twelve countries participate in Eurovision Junior, against nineteen in 2019. The constraints linked to the Covid-19 pandemic have dissuaded a good number of them, such as Italy, Ireland and Portugal, to enter the running.

Armenia withdrew in early November because it was unable to prepare the performance of its candidate Maléna Fox.

At issue: the establishment of martial law in Armenia in the context of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The running order on Sunday will be as follows: Germany, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Serbia, Belarus, Poland, Georgia, Malta, Russia, Spain, Ukraine and France.

Does France have its chances?

Valentina is on course to do at least as well as Angelina and Carla by finishing in the Top 5. “We have had some pretty incredible feedback.

We had playlist entries on all the biggest playlists on music platforms, including Spotify's Music Friday and Deezer's French Variety.

There is an exceptional editorial reception ”, rejoices Julien Godin, general manager of the label Play Two.

“With Kids United, Valentina has performed in over 30 Zéniths.

She is used to the show, she is so comfortable!

“, Underlines Alexandra Redde-Amiel to highlight the professionalism of the young singer.

As reported by Wiwibloggs, the

music video

was one of the most viewed on YouTube with 1.7 million views as of November 23.

Only the Polish Ala Tracz does (much) better: 5 million views for

.

Apart from these two favorites, it will be necessary to watch the Georgian Sandra Gadelia who makes a strong impression online with her song

 and the Spanish Soléa who will sing

.

Finally, let us note that the order of passage is rather favorable to Valentina: the majority of the winners of the previous editions sang in the second half of the show.

How to vote?

Unlike Eurovision for adults, it is quite possible to vote for your own country.

The votes open on Friday, on the Eurovision Junior website.

After watching a sample of the twelve songs in the running, you can vote for at least three candidates (and at most five candidates).

This vote will be suspended when the competition is broadcast on Sunday and then reopened for fifteen minutes once the performances of the twelve participants have been broadcast on television.

These votes from the international public will be added to those of the twelve national juries - composed of two adults and three children - to establish the final ranking.

Culture

Valentina from Kids United to represent France at Eurovision Junior 2020

Culture

Here is the song that will represent France at Eurovision Junior 2020

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