KiKA has confirmed to ESC Kompakt that it will not be participating in or broadcasting future editions of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
Germany will not be competing in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the foreseeable future after KiKA confirmed that it will neither compete in nor air upcoming editions of the competition. KiKA competed in the contest between 2020 and 2024. German participation in the contest started in 2020 when NDR, KiKA, and ZDF collaborated. From 2021, NDR and KiKA jointly organised participation, but after NDR lost responsibility for overall German participation, KiKA withdrew from competing in 2025.
KiKA said in a statement that:
โFollowing a comprehensive internal consultation process, we have decided to discontinue our participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. This decision is the result of structured discussions between the editorial team, program managers, and the responsible body, the KiKA Program Commission, which carefully evaluated participation over the past few months.
We thank all the young artists, their families, and our national and international partners for their trusting and inspiring collaboration. Supporting young talent remains a central concern for us, which we will continue to pursue with great dedication. We wish the competition all the best for the future and many more special musical moments.โ
Should Germany wish to return to the competition, participation in the contest would need to be taken up by another EBU member broadcaster. ARD and its regional members would need to decide to compete without the involvement of a childrenโs channel, or ZDF would need to compete standalone in a Eurovision contest for the first time since Eurovision Young Musicians 2004.
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026
Junior Eurovision 2025 was won by France, but the French broadcaster has declined to host the competition. As a result, conversations are currently ongoing regarding where the 2026 contest will be held. To date, the following broadcasters have confirmed their intention to compete in the 2026 contest:
๐ฌ๐ช Georgia: GPB
๐ฎ๐ช Ireland: TG4
๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands: AVROTROS
๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia: MRT
๐ต๐ฑ Poland: TVP
๐ต๐น Portugal: RTP
๐ธ๐ฒ San Marino: SMRTV
The following broadcasters, who have previously participated, have declined returning to the contest:
๐ง๐ช Belgium: VRT โ Last competed in 2012
๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark: DR โ Last participated in 2005
๐ฉ๐ช Germany: KiKA โ Last participated in 2024
๐ณ๐ด Norway: NRK โ Last participated in 2005
๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia: RTVSLO โ Last participated in 2015
๐ธ๐ช Sweden: SVT โ Last participated in 2014
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณWales: S4C โ Last participated in 2019
๐ฆ๐บ Australia: SBS โ Last participated in 2016
The following broadcasters have ruled out debuting in the contest:
๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland: RรV โ Last broadcast the contest in 2021
๐จ๐ฟ Czechia: ฤT โ Never broadcast the contest
๐ซ๐ฎ Finland: Yle โ Last broadcast the contest in 2003
Source: ESC Kompakt
Germany in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest+
Germany made their debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2020, the last Big 5 country to debut in the contest. Susan represented Germany on their debut with the song โStronger with Youโ, scoring 66 points but finishing 12th out of 12 entries. Their best result was achieved at the 2023 contest, where they returned after a year out. FIA finished 9th with her song โOhne Worteโ.