Malta gears up for Junior Eurovision 2016
11 November 2016 at 11:00 CETDelegations from around Europe and beyond are due to arrive in Malta this weekend to begin a week of rehearsals for the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. In a change of format, the 14th edition of the competition will take place on a Sunday for the first time. The afternoon slot was chosen as it is considered to be family prime time viewing.
This year, each entry will be judged by one professional music industry jury and one youth jury made up of children from every participating country. These will combine 50/50 to form that country’s vote. In a format change brand new for 2016, the expert panel will also vote live during the show. Panel members will award 1-8 points, then 10 and 12 to their favourite acts. These votes will then be added to the scoreboard, creating the participant's final score. The country with the most points will be declared the winner.
The first ever expert judges panel will comprise of Jedward, who participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, Mads Grimstad of Universal Music, and expert show producer, Christer Bjorkman. In 1992 Christer represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest and is the man behind the Swedish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, Melodifestivalen. He was also the show producer for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm.
Poli Genova, who represented Bulgaria in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest will also perform live during the show. The 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest takes place at 16:00 CET on Sunday 20th November. To find out more information, visit JuniorEurovision.tv.