Press release from the EBU

Following a rule change enacted earlier this year, the host broadcaster for the 2018 Junior Eurovision Song Contest can now be revealed even before the 2017’s contest in Tbilisi has begun! Today, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Belarusian national broadcaster (BTRC) can announce that Belarus will host the 16th Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC) in 2018 in Minsk.

To ensure the longevity of the Contest and allow more time to prepare the event, the JESC Steering Group decided to remove a clause in the Rules that gave the winning broadcaster first refusal to host. EBU Members were given the opportunity to apply to host JESC 2018 and Belarus’s application was judged to be the best.

2018 will be the second time the Contest will take place in Minsk, following BTRC’s hosting in the Belarusian capital in 2010.

Belarus has taken part in every Junior Eurovision Song Contest since the competition was created in 2003. The country has a very successful record in the Contest, winning in both 2005 with Ksenia Sitnik and 2007 with Alexey Zhigalkovich.

Jon Ola Sand, the EBU’s Head of Live Events said: “The rule change to allow a host for next year’s competition to be chosen earlier not only gives the host broadcaster longer to prepare what is a huge production but also protects the future of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. We are therefore delighted to announce, before we gather in Tbilisi for the 2017 competition, that BTRC will be the host broadcaster of the 2018 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. BTRC’s application to host was extremely strong, and we have full confidence that they will put the same enthusiasm into the preparations of next year’s event.”