Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Following Italy's win at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014, the European Broadcasting Union had given the Italian broadcaster RAI the first refusal to host the 2015 contest.[1] However, on 15 January 2015, RAI declined the right to host the contest. The Executive Supervisor for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, Vladislav Yakovlev, praised the Italian broadcaster RAI for their time looking into the possibilities of hosting, even though they made their debut appearance in 2014, and further explained how the EBU were in a lucky position to have received bids from two countries.[2]

The EBU announced later that day that they had received bids from two countries to host the contest; those countries being Bulgaria and last year host Malta,[3] who finished in second and fourth places respectively in 2014.[4] Bulgarian broadcaster BNT confirmed on 15 January they had submitted a bid to host the 2015 contest.[5] The national broadcaster for Malta, Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), stated prior to the 2014 contest that they would host again if they won.[6]

On 26 January 2015, it was announced that Bulgaria had been chosen to host the 2015 edition, which took place on 21 November 2015.[7] It was the first time that the nation organised any Eurovision event.[8] In March 2015, it was confirmed that Sofia would be the host city, with the Arena Armeec being the host venue.[7]

Arena Armeec stage during the 2015 Junior Eurovision.

On 22 May 2015, a press conference devoted to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest was held in Vienna during the organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. At the press conference, the slogan for the 2015 Junior contest was revealed to be #Discover. The slogan was selected to signify how the Junior Eurovision Song Contest endeavours to find new melodies, explore new people and create links between individuals.[14]

On 23 June 2015, the EBU in conjunction with the host broadcaster BNT, presented the official logo for the 2015 edition, during the Steering Group meeting held in Sofia.[15] Viara Ankova, the Director General of the host broadcaster explained that the logo's concept was inspired behind the idea of a seeded head of a dandelion being blown, "something that everyone has done as a child".[15]

The logo shows how Bulgaria’s young people are the seeds of the future; venturing out from the safety of tradition to explore and discover a new future for themselves and for us all.

— Viara Ankova, General Director of BNT[15]

Poli Genova during the contest

The postcards used to introduce each competing nation during the show were built around the concept of selfies.[16] The postcards featured the competing artists sending their selfie to a group of three teenagers in Bulgaria, which would then inspire their adventures. Different sights and cities were showcased with the teenagers documenting their journey through their own selfies and sending them to the competing artist.[16]

Bulgarian singer Poli Genova was announced as the host of the competition on 21 October 2015.[17] Genova had previously represented Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011. In addition, the running order draw and opening ceremonies were hosted by Bulgarian singer Joanna Dragneva, who had also previously represented Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 as part of Deep Zone Project.[18]

The order in which each country announced their votes was the same as the running order of the performances. Details of the running order were published by the EBU on 15 November 2015.[21] The spokespersons are shown below alongside each participating country.[22]

Below is a summary of all 12 points received. All countries were given 12 points at the start of voting to ensure that no country finished with nul points.

N.	Contestant	Nation(s) giving 12 points
8	Malta	Albania,  Armenia,  Australia,  Bulgaria, Kids Jury,  San Marino,  Serbia,  Slovenia
4	Armenia	Belarus,  Georgia,  Netherlands,  Russia
2	Serbia	Macedonia,  Montenegro
1	Albania	Italy
	Bulgaria	Ireland
	Italy	Malta
	San Marino	Ukraine

•  Cyprus – On 29 June 2015, the national broadcaster of Cyprus, Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), revealed that they would not participate in the 2015 contest due to lack of funds.[29]
•  France – France 2 announced on 24 June 2015 that they had no plans to return to the contest, however the broadcaster sent a delegation to Bulgaria in order to observe the 2015 edition.[30][31]
•  Germany – Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) were observers at last year's contest.[32] On 2 June 2015, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) stated that they had not ruled out a début in the 2015 contest.[32] On 1 July 2015, ARD consortium member NDR launched an online poll to decide whether or not Germany should participate in Junior Eurovision, which would be broadcast on their children's station, KiKa (which is a joint venture of ARD and ZDF).[33] Germany was originally on the list of participants for the inaugural contest[34] and again in 2004 but later withdrew.[35] The debut of the country in the competition didn't materialize. However, on 4 November 2015, it was announced that NDR would broadcast a livestream of the contest on their Eurovision website for the first time.[36]
•  Greece – Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) stated on 11 June 2015 that they were undecided about returning to the Junior contest but are "willing to examine interesting projects".[37] However, the country was not among the 2015 edition's list of participants.
•  Romania – On 4 June 2015, Televisiunea Românâ (TVR) revealed that due to lack of interest, Romania's participation in the 2015 contest would be unlikely.[38]
•  Spain – Several media outlets reported that Televisión Española (TVE) was working on returning to the contest in 2015. However, these claims were not confirmed by the broadcaster.[39][40] Ultimately the country was not among the 2015 edition's list of participants.
•  Sweden – Sveriges Television (SVT) announced on 29 June 2015 that the broadcaster would withdraw from the contest for one year to focus on new youth-focused projects and hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.[41]

In August 2014, executive supervisor Vladislav Yakovlev said that they are working on finding a way to allow commercial networks to participate in the contest, although they are not EBU members.[42][43]

•  Spain – Because Spanish broadcaster EBU member, Televisión Española (TVE), has declined invitations to participate since 2007, the European Broadcasting Union TV Committee will discuss in the coming months the possibility to allow commercial channels to take part in the contest.[44] If the final decision is yes, they will continue negotiating with Spanish private TV channels to bring back Spain to the contest.[45]

At the press center during the contest, members of the press were allowed to vote for their favourite acts. Below is the top five overall results, after all the votes had been cast.

Country	Song	Performer(s)	Result
Malta	"Not My Soul"	Destiny Chukunyere	759
Australia	"My Girls"	Bella Paige	642
Armenia	"Love"	Michael Varosyan	543
Russia	"Mechta (Dream)"	Mikhail Smirnov	520
Serbia	"Lenina pesma"	Lena Stamenković	499