Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the fourteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, Malta. This was the second time that Malta have hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, their first being in . Jon Ola Sand was appointed as the Executive Supervisor for the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, following the dismissal of the former supervisor, Vladislav Yakovlev.
Seventeen countries participated in the contest with and both withdrawing from the competition after two contests, and withdrawing after three, whilst returned after a one-year break, returned after a and returned to the contest after a . For the first time since the inauguration of the contest the voting procedure did not include a public televote. The overall results were determined by combination of professional and young jurors.
The winner of the contest was Mariam Mamadashvili, who represented with the song "Mzeo", marking the third time Georgia has won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest (following 2008 and 2011 respectively), making Georgia the first country to win the competition three times. and finished in second and third place, respectively.
Location.
During a press conference interview on 21 November 2015, a representative from the EBU stated that they had already begun approaching several broadcasters in regards to being the host country for the 2016 contest. On 13 April 2016, it was confirmed that Malta would host the contest. This was the second time that the country hosted the contest, having previously done so in 2014.
The contest took place in the Republic Hall of the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in the Maltese capital, Valletta.
The Republic Hall is typically capable of seating 1,400 people.
Format.
Executive supervisor dismissal.
An announcement was made in December 2015, regarding the contract termination of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor Vladislav Yakovlev. Yakovlev was fired without any clear reasons after three contests, and was replaced by Jon Ola Sand who has been Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest since .
Graphic design.
During a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden on 13 May 2016, the logo and slogan of the contest were released, intending to represent the contest's values: connectivity, diversity, creativity and respect. The slogan for the contest was "Embrace". On 10 September 2016, it was revealed that each of the postcards preceding the participants' performances would showcase Malta. Filming took place in various locations, including Hastings Gardens and City Gate.
On 8 October 2016, PBS released details regarding the proposed stage design for the contest. The design included a circular stage with an LED backdrop and a spiral structure.
Hosts.
On 28 October 2016, it was announced that Valerie Vella and Ben Camille would host the 2016 contest. Vella is known in Malta as a television presenter, having hosted the Maltese national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002, 2009 and 2011. She presented the Maltese votes at the Eurovision Song Contest in and and commented on the Eurovision Song Contest in and , as well as the Junior Eurovision Song Contest from to . Camille is also known both as a television presenter and an actor in Malta, notable for having acted in Maltese television show "Strada Stretta". He hosted Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016 and presented the Maltese votes in the Eurovision Song Contest that year.
Voting.
During the press conference for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016, held in Stockholm, the steering group announced several changes to the voting format for the 2016 contest. Previously, points had been awarded based on a combination of 50% national juries and 50% televoting, from each country with one more set of points also given out by a 'Kids' Jury'. The new voting system would be an adaptation of the new system used in the adult festival, but instead of the televoting, which was removed, a children's jury would be used by each country. In 2016, 1-8, 10, and 12 points were awarded based on a 50/50 combination of each country’s Adult and , announced by a spokesperson. This brought an end to the use of televoting for the first time. For the first time, an expert panel from the professional music industry provided feedback on each of the artists performances. The members of the panel were: Christer Björkman, Mads Grimstad, and the 2011 and 2012, participants at the adult version Jedward. Also for the first time since 2005 the starting 12 points were dropped. In 2005 these were added to make sure nobody would receive no points.
Interval acts.
It was announced on 3 November 2016 that last year's Junior Eurovision winner, Destiny Chukunyere, would be part of the interval act during the show. Poli Genova who represented Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 and 2016 and also hosted the last´s year contest, would also be a part of the interval acts, performing the song "If Love Was a Crime". On 16 November 2016, along the experts juries, it was announced that Jedward would join the interval act by performing a new song entitled "Hologram".
During the final, the participants of the contest performed the song "We Are", not to be confused with the Australian entry with the same name.
Participating countries.
On 28 September 2016, it was confirmed that seventeen countries would take part in the contest. , , and all returned after a , and breaks respectively. and both withdrew from the competition after two contests, and withdrew after competing in the past three editions. TVM, the Maltese television network operated by the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), initially expected that a total of eighteen countries would participate in the 2016 contest.
Scoreboard.
The votes of the adult jury and the kids jury were cast after the second dress rehearsal, whereas the votes of the expert jury were cast after the performances at the final. Mariam Mamadashvili who represented Georgia with the song "Mzeo", was declared the winner after all the votes had been announced from all of the seventeen participating countries and the expert juries. Below is a full breakdown of how the votes were cast.
Other countries.
For a country to be eligible for potential participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, it needs to be an active member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It is unknown whether the EBU issue invitations of participation to all 56 active members like they do for the Eurovision Song Contest. At a press conference held during the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, the former contest Executive Supervisor, Vladislav Yakovlev, announced that broadcasters in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had expressed interest in participation. Additionally, during the Junior Eurovision Song Contest press conference held in Stockholm during the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, Jon Ola Sand confirmed that the EBU was in contact with a number of broadcasters regarding participation including Belgium, France, Germany and Spain.
The EBU Active Members, listed below, had made the following announcements in regards to their decisions:
Active EBU members.
The following broadcasters publicly declined to participate in the contest without providing any further explanations:
International broadcasts and voting.
The first votes to be announced were those of the professional music industry jury, announced in the order of performance. The expert juries then announced their votes which had been cast live at the contest. Finally, the points awarded by the Kids' Jury were announced as a total in order of the fewest to the greatest number of points received by each country. The spokespersons are shown below alongside each participating country.
Official album.
Junior Eurovision Song Contest Valletta 2016, is a compilation album put together by the European Broadcasting Union, and was released by Universal Music Group on 11 November 2016. The album features all the songs from the 2016 contest, as well as two new songs by 2015 winner Destiny Chukunyere: "Embrace" and "Fast Life".