Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S national public broadcaster RTVE will host this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the very first time.
The country won the second-ever competition in 2004 and came second in Nice last year.
The host city and dates for the 2024 event will be announced in due course.
The Valencian government has already told RTVE that the region would like to be considered as a host.
It already has the annual Benidorm Fest to pick Spain’s entry for the main ‘senior’ event.
Martin Osterdahl, the EBU’s JESC Executive Supervisor said: “20 years after their Junior Eurovision Song Contest win, we’re thrilled to finally bring the Contest to Spain.”
“We’re grateful to RTVE for accepting to host the 22nd edition of the competition and we’re very much looking forward to the fiesta that awaits in Spain later this year!”
The rules of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest(JESC) do not require the winning broadcaster to host the following year, as in the Eurovision Song Contest, but they do get first refusal should they wish to stage the next year’s competition.
France Televisions decided to pass this year after staging shows in 2021 and 2023 following their previous two victories.
Ana Maria Bordas, Spain’s Head of Delegation at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and JESC Steering Group Member said: “RTVE welcomes with great enthusiasm EBU’s invitation for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 to be held in Spain.”
She added: “For RTVE, hosting the next JESC is another step in the effort that the public broadcaster has made in recent years to promote Eurovision in Spain and give more relevance to our music.”
“We are sure that the Spanish public will also receive this announcement with great enthusiasm and will welcome the Eurovision community with open arms.”
The 2023 Junior Eurovision Song Contest reached 27 million people on linear TV across 15 measured markets and a further 3.5 million viewers saw content on the Official JESC YouTube channel in the lead up to, and week following, the event.
There was also huge engagement from across the world on the event’s other digital platforms.
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