Georgia prepares to host Junior Eurovision 2025 for record second time

Georgia is preparing to host Junior Eurovision 2025, with the final of Europe’s most prestigious children’s music competition set to take place on December 13.

Eighteen European nations will compete, including Georgia’s representative Anita Abgarian, winner of the national selection contest “Ranina”.

Georgia’s Minister of Culture and the Director General of the Georgian Public Broadcaster held a press conference to discuss the preparations for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

According to Tinatin Berdzenishvili, Director General of the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB), preparations are well underway for Europe’s largest festival of its kind.

“Georgia is winning Junior Eurovision for the fourth time, which is an absolute record and naturally a source of great pride for our country. The Public Broadcaster, now hosting for the second time, is immensely proud because this is a festival for Georgian children. This isn’t merely a single concert; it’s a week-long celebration beginning on the 1st of December.

We will have two concerts, both duplicated. Each concert will be attended by up to 3,000 children who will listen, watch and vote alongside the jury. The second concert will be broadcast live by the leading broadcasters from all 18 countries. I believe our children will be the happiest in the pre-New Year period.

This is also a message from our country to our European colleagues. The entire team from the European Broadcasting Union has already arrived in Georgia, and preparations are underway for Europe’s largest festival,” Berdzenishvili stated.

Culture Minister Tinatin Rukhadzе expressed pride that Junior Eurovision is being held in Georgia for the second time, describing it as immensely significant for the country.

“I’m delighted that Georgia has a record at Junior Eurovision that no other country can match. The talent of our children has the world talking. It’s naturally a source of great pride that Junior Eurovision is being held in Georgia for the second time.

I want to thank the Georgian Public Broadcaster. This is tremendously important for the country because during this period, the entire world will be talking about us. Georgia will be featured prominently in virtually every European media outlet. It’s one of the main events for Europe as well.

For us, it’s crucially important that our voice, our culture, and our young Georgians will be represented in Europe; young people, we ambitiously believe, are amongst the most talented in the world.

For the country, this signifies an increase in tourism and ongoing, sustainable economic growth. Everything is interconnected, and naturally, Georgia’s government supports development and progress. This is our European integration, being integrated and inseparable through talent and art,” Rukhadze declared.

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is an international music competition organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for young performers aged 9 to 14. Georgia has won the competition four times, more than any other nation, cementing its reputation as a powerhouse in the contest. The country previously hosted the event in 2017.