Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026
International song competition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is set to be the 24th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, held on 24 October 2026 at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre in Ta' Qali, Malta. It will be organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). It will be the third time that Malta has hosted the contest, having previously done so in 2014 and 2016. The contest will be also the first to be held on October.
- 24 October 2026
Ta' Qali, Malta
| Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | |
|---|---|
| United by Music[1] | |
| |
| Date and venue | |
| Final |
|
| Venue | Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre Ta' Qali, Malta |
| Organisation | |
| Organiser | European Broadcasting Union (EBU) |
| ESC director | Martin Green |
| ESC executive producer | Gert Kark[2] |
| Host broadcaster | Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 16 |
| Non-returning countries | |
Broadcasters from sixteen countries will participate in the contest, with Azerbaijan and Croatia both opting not to participate after doing so the previous year.[3]
Location
The 2026 contest will take place in Ta' Qali, Malta. It will be the third time that Malta has hosted the contest, having previously done so in 2014 and 2016,[4] as well as the first time the contest is being held in October for "logistical reasons".[5] The selected venue for the contest is the 10,268-seat Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre, which will be transformed into a "Eurovision Festa Village", inspired by Malta's patronal festival tradition, for the event.[4]
Bidding phase and host city selection
Unlike the Eurovision Song Contest, the winning broadcaster of the previous year's Junior Eurovision Song Contest does not automatically receive the right to host the next edition. However, since 2011 (with the exceptions of 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2024) it has become customary for winners to take on hosting duties, and since 2019, the winning broadcaster has had the right of first refusal on hosting the following competition. On 18 December 2025, French broadcaster France Télévisions, which won the 2025 contest, announced that it had opted not to host in 2026, citing a plan to reduce the costs of national programming;[6] this marked its second refusal to stage the event in a three-year span, having also done so in 2024.[7]
A bidding phase was reportedly held for the first time since 2018 in order to identify the host country.[8] In December 2025, Sammarinese broadcaster SMRTV announced that it would submit a bid to host the event;[9] however, on 7 March 2026, its director Roberto Sergio stated that the application had not been chosen and that the contest would be held in North Macedonia,[10] with Macedonian media outlets reporting Skopje as the host city.[11] On 15 May 2026, the EBU announced Malta had been selected to host the 2026 contest instead, with the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre in Ta' Qali as the selected venue.[4]
Participants
Eligibility for participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active EBU membership capable of receiving the contest via the Eurovision network and broadcasting the contest live nationwide. The EBU issues an invitation to participate in the contest to all active members.
On 24 July 2026, the EBU announced that broadcasters from 16 countries would participate in the 2026 contest. Azerbaijan and Croatia opted not to compete after making one-off appearances the previous year.[12]
| Country | Broadcaster | Artist | Song | Language | Songwriter(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Albania |
RTSH | Eslin Kurti | "Kërce me mua" | Albanian |
|
[13] |
 Armenia |
AMPTV | [14] | ||||
 Cyprus |
CyBC | Harry Georgiou | [15] | |||
 France |
France Télévisions | Alec | [16][17] | |||
 Georgia |
GPB | Davit Lomidze | [18] | |||
 Ireland |
TG4 | [19][20] | ||||
 Italy |
RAI | [21][22] | ||||
 Malta |
PBS | [23] | ||||
 Montenegro |
RTCG | Mija Vujović | "Muzika nas spaja" (Музика нас спаја) | TBA |
|
[24][25][26] |
 Netherlands |
AVROTROS | TBD 19 September 2026 | [27][28][29] | |||
 North Macedonia |
MRT | Ana Stojanoska | "Idnata jas" (Идната јас) | TBA |
|
[30][31] |
 Poland |
TVP | Wiktor Sas | [32][33] | |||
 Portugal |
RTP | Salvador Rio | Diogo Piçarra | [34][35] | ||
 San Marino |
SMRTV | [24] | ||||
 Spain |
RTVE | Lucas Paulano | [36] | |||
 Ukraine |
Suspilne | TBD 13 September 2026 | [37] | |||
Broadcasts
All participating broadcasters may choose to have on-site or remote commentators providing insight and voting information to their local audience. Although they are required to broadcast the show in which their country votes, most broadcasters air the contest. Some non-participating broadcasters also air the contest. The Junior Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel provides international live streams with no commentary of all shows.
The following are the broadcasters that have confirmed in whole or in part their broadcasting plans and/or commentators:
