Ukraine has announced that the country will select its artist and song for the 2026 edition of Junior Eurovision on September 13th. As in previous years, the selection method will be the national selection Junior Vidbir.
What will Junior Vidbir 2026 look like?
According to Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne, Junior Vidbir will take place on Sunday, September 13, at 6:00 p.m. EET (5:00 p.m. CET). Viewers at home will be able to watch the contest through either the TV channel and website Kultura, the website junior.eurovision.ua or the Eurovision Ukraine YouTube channel. In terms of the voting, as in previous years, the Ukrainian representative for Junior Eurovision 2026 will be selected through the votes of a three-member professional jury and the audience.
The names of the contestants have not yet been revealed. This year, Suspilne received a record 642 applications. 15 young performers were then selected for a longlist on July 24th. Longlist participants will then take part in live auditions, following which 10 will be selected for the Star School. Here, contestants will attend masterclasses in singing, dancing, and acting, as well as completing creative tasks. At the end of the Star School, Suspilne will announce the 6 finalists who will take part in the Junior Vidbir grand final.
Junior Eurovision 2026 begins to take shape
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is due to take place at 21.00 CEST, on Saturday 24 October, live from the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre (MFCC) in Ta’ Qali, Malta. Last year’s Contest was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, where France’s Lou Deleuze won with the song “Ce Monde”. Malta’s broadcaster PBS are hosting the Contest for the third time, having hosted the event previously in 2014 and 2016.
The full list of the 16 competing broadcasters is as follows:
🇦🇱 RTSH (Albania) – Eslin Kurti – “Kërce me mua”
🇦🇲 AMPTV (Armenia)
🇨🇾 CyBC (Cyprus) – Haris Georgiou
🇫🇷 France Télévisions (France) – Alec Burette
🇬🇪 GPB (Georgia) – Davit Lomidze
🇮🇪 TG4 (Ireland)
🇮🇹 Rai (Italy)
🇲🇹 PBS (Malta – hosts)
🇲🇪 RTCG (Montenegro) – Mija Mujović – “Muzika Nas Spaja”
🇳🇱 AVROTROS (Netherlands)
🇲🇰 MKRTV (North Macedonia) – Ana Stojanoska – “Idnata jas”
🇵🇱 TVP (Poland) – Wiktor Sas
🇵🇹 RTP (Portugal) – Salvador Rio
🇸🇲 SMRTV (San Marino)
🇪🇸 RTVE (Spain) – Lucas Paulano
🇺🇦 Suspilne (Ukraine)
Ukraine’s Junior Eurovision Journey
Ukraine made their debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 with Nazar Slyusarchuk and the song “Khlopchyk Rock ‘n’ Roll” (Хлопчик рок ‘н’ ролл), which finished 9th. Since their debut, the country has participated 17 times, and even won once in 2012 with Anastasiya Petryk and her song “Nebo” (Небо).
Following a third place in 2024, Ukraine achieved another top five finish in 2025, when Sofiia Nersesian and her song “Montaka” finished second. She received 79 points from the jury and 98 from the online vote, ultimately winning the online vote.
What do you think of this year’s Junior Vidbir? Are you excited to see Ukraine participate at Junior Eurovision this year? Who would you like to see compete in their National Final? As always, let us know what you think on social media and follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky, and ZOOP as we head towards Junior Eurovision 2026!
News Source: Suspilne Ukraine
Photo Credit: Corinne Cumming / EBU
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