The country is counting down the days until its Junior Eurovision Éire national selection process kicks off. As announced by TG4, the first qualifying round of the traditional children’s talent show will take place next Sunday 18 at 21:30h. The show is expected to feature four elimination rounds, a semi-final and a grand final, where the public will have the final say in choosing the winner, who will represent Ireland at Junior Eurovision 2022.
The full provisional schedule for the Junior Eurovision Éire 2022 programs is as follows:
| Date | Time | Broadcasting Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 18/09 | 21:30h | TG4 |
| Round 2 | 25/09 | 21:30h | TG4 |
| Round 3 | 02/10 | 21:30h | TG4 |
| Round 4 | 09/10 | 21:30h | TG4 |
| Semi-final | 16/10 | 21:30h | TG4 |
| Final | 23/10 | 21:30h | TG4 |
The Irish broadcaster is already promoting the new season of the format, which is loaded with new features and changes in this new edition, which will culminate with the crowning of the next Irish representative of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Afterwards, TG4 will search for the unpublished song that the young person will perform on the stage of the European contest.
NEW FACES ON THE JURY AND HOSTS
In contrast to the last editions of the format, there will be two new faces presenting the galas. In addition to the previous edition’s mistress of ceremonies and Irish Junior Eurovision 2021 commentator Louise Cantillon, the young up-and-comer Darragh Ó Caoimh will take over the hosting reins. This will be the first edition in the format’s history to have two presenters.
We will also see new faces on the judging panel, which as always will be made up of three professional experts from the world of music for each show. This year, the two permanent members of the judging panel will be radio presenter Niamh Ní Chróinín, who repeats her experience after last year’s edition; and Chris Greene, who returns to the judging panel after being absent from last year’s edition. Greene. Like his partner, is a regular face on Irish radio, hosting a show on RTÉ2 fm.
BROOKE SCULLION, AMONG THE MEMBERS OF THE GUEST JURORS
Junior Eurovision Éire will also feature rotating members of the jury, who will take it in turns to occupy the third and final chair at the expert panel table on the set. This task will be carried out by former representatives of the Gaelic nation at the senior Eurovision Song Contest, most notably Brooke Scullion, who will do so after her time on the Turin stage in Italy. The faces of the rotating jury are completed by Niamh Kavanagh , Linda Martin , Paul, Harrington, Brian Kennedy and Ryan O’ Shaughnessy.
ABOUT JUNIOR EUROVISION ÉIRE
Junior Eurovision Éire was born in 2015 with the mission to select the Irish representative for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest year after year. The format, which has changed its mechanics over the course of its 6 editions, consists of a variable number of galas in which a set of young talents showcase their musical talents in front of a prestigious panel of experts and former Irish Eurovision representatives.
While until 2018 the contestants performed their own unreleased songs , from 2019 onwards the competition will be based on the performance of covers of popular songs in the Gaelic language. In this way, the organisation aims to attract as many children as possible without the need for them to own a song; furthermore, the use and standardisation of the Irish language is encouraged. Following the contest, broadcaster TG4 will ensure that an original song tailored to the performer’s needs is found to perform on the Junior Eurovision stage.
The format, produced by Adare Productions, is already a classic on TG4’s autumn schedule, with six editions having been produced since 2015. The show’s organisers aim to create a platform for showcasing the nation’s young talent as well as a space to showcase and normalise the Irish language, in line with the objectives of their respective broadcaster’s focus on producing Gaelic language content. The tour culminates on the Junior Eurovision stage, which gives the local language unrivalled international exposure and exposure.
We have a wonderful opportunity to bring Gaelic to the Eurovision stage through our young talents
Louise Cantillon (co-presenter of Junior Eurovision Éire 2022)
IRELAND AT THE JUNIOR EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
Ireland has a total of six Junior Eurovision Song Contest entries, joining the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2015 and participating almost continuously until today, only missing the 2020 edition. The country has a poor record in the competition, usually ranking in the lower-middle of the leaderboard. The nation’s moment of glory came just one year after their debut, when they made it into the top 10 of the festival with young Zena Donnelly and her catchy Bríce Ar Bhríce. The country would score a total of 121 points for a tenth place finish at the festival in La Valleta.
The Irish entry in 2019, which was one of the favourites of the event, is also well remembered by the fans of the Junior Eurofestival. The young Anna Kearny and her Banshee, a carefully crafted ballad with Celtic sounds, would finally only obtain a 12th position, which was too little but understandable given the high level of the competition that year
The last Irish appearance at the festival came from the last winner of the traditional national Junior Eurovision Éire pre-selection format, Maiu Levi Lawlor. His song Saor, an energetic, youthful uptempo track, failed to climb from 18th and penultimate place in the ranking, leading the country to its worst ever placing.
will Ireland make a comeback this year and return to the top 10?
JUNIOR EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2022
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 will be held in Yerevan, Armenia on Sunday 11 December. The Karen Demirchyan Complex will host the show in which artists aged between 9 and 14 from across Europe will battle it out to win the coveted crystal microphone, the trophy for victory at the Eurovision Song Contest.
The organisation of the show by Armenian public broadcaster ARMTV follows the victory of Malena and her “Qami Qami” on stage in Paris on 19 December, which sparked a collective euphoria in her homeland and made the whole country take on the challenge of organising the festival with great enthusiasm and responsibility, which promises to be more special than ever as it celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2022. It will not be the first time that Armenia has hosted a Junior Eurovision, having had the opportunity to do so in 2011, also at the Karen Demirchyan Complex.
So far, 16 European broadcasters have already confirmed their participation in the festival, however, the ambition and efforts of the organisation do not close the door to the list finally expanding with the presence of more participants in this 20th edition of the junior festival. We already know the identity of 4 of the participants who will take to the stage this December, all of whom will reveal their song in the coming months:
- Georgia – Mariam Bigvava
- Kazakhstan – David Charlin
- North Macedonia – Lara and Irina
- Portugal – Nicolas Alves