Eurovision Radio International today launched a new Eurovision Award, to be known as ‘The Mozart Award’ marking both the 60th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna and the concept of ‘Building Bridges’ between the Adult Contest, and its much younger sibling, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Radio International’s founder and regular show host Jürgen Börning, known to all as ‘JP’, said that he wished to mark the wonderful support the station receives from the organisers of both Contests by inaugurating a new award in the spirit of ‘Building Bridges’ from one Contest to the other.

There have already been a number of instances of young artists ‘graduating’ from Junior to Adult Eurovision – last year’s Russian Eurovision entrants the Tolmachevy Sisters being just one example. The ‘Mozart Award’ will be awarded to the person or group who graduate from being lead artists for their country at a Junior Eurovision Contest to performing the same role at the Adult Contest in the shortest time span. The award will be held by that artist until the record they have set is beaten.

Former 2013 Junior Eurovision participant Michele Perniola is singing for San Marino this year, but the time span of 18 months or so that Michele has set is completely overshadowed by his singing partner here in Vienna, Anita Simoncini.

Anita, who only recently turned 16, performed for San Marino as part of girl-group The Peppermints in the 2014 Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Malta on Saturday 15th November. On Thursday 21st May Anita will sing for her country once again, this time alongside Michele performing ‘Chain of Lights’ in the second Semi-final of Eurovision 2015 – just 187 days after performing at the Junior Contest.

‘JP’ presented Anita with her award during the San Marino Press Conference in Vienna on Saturday. So many congratulations to Anita for her achievement. We feel it likely that Anita’s record short ‘graduation’ time-span is going to be a very difficult one to beat too!