The 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest will take place on Sunday afternoon the 20th of November in Malta’s capital city Valletta. The European Broadcasting Union has just confirmed the news that the winning nation of 2015 has said ‘yes’ to the offer of hosting this year.
PBS will host Junior Eurovision in Valletta, after being offered the chance to organise the 14th annual competition. Malta’s Destiny Chukunyere (pictured above) won the 2015 contest in Sofia, Bulgaria. Malta last hosted the contest in 2014.
The 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest will see several format changes, as the event this year will take place on the afternoon of Sunday the 20th of November and will be held across several locations around Valletta.
“Within the Steering Group we have been discussing how to improve and further the JESC format,” said Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor for the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. “Many members, including some not taking part, felt that the timeslot was not suited to children and family viewing, so we have tried to bring the competition to a time more fitting for this type of event”.
Sand added: “On behalf of the EBU, I am very excited that PBS has agreed to host the event again, and look forward to working with them after the benchmark that they set back in 2014”.
More details about this year’s competition will be revealed soon. The EBU and PBS will hold a joint press conference in Stockholm at the Eurovision Song Contest in May.