Just a few days ago, Ukraine revealed the 5 member expert jury responsible to select the 10 artists to compete in the national selection. Yesterday, they unveiled the names of the competing artists.
10 artists but only 1 winner
The 10 artists announced by UA:PBC who will be competing for the Ukrainian ticket to Minsk are:
- Kain Rivers from Kyiv
- Rock group “HAOS” from Kyiv
- Irina Ignatenko from Kyiv
- Oleksandr Balabanov from Kyiv
- Polina Pisarcova from Derhachi
- Sofia Ivanko from Kyiv
- Darina Krasnovetska from Vinnytsia
- Duet “The Sparks” from Kyiv
- Denis Rodin from Vovchynets
- Irina Taras from Ivano-Frankivsk
Online voting closes on September 3rd
UA:PBC has also officially opened the online voting procedures. People wishing to vote will have until next Monday September 3rd to cast their opinion. It can be done here after logging in through a Facebook account. The 5-member professional jury will take the results of the online voting into consideration when deciding who will get to fly Ukraine’s flag at Junior Eurovision 2018.
Ukraine in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Ukraine first participated at Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2006, and participated every year since. The country also hosted the contest in both 2009 and 2013 in their capital city of Kyiv. Besides, Ukraine also won the contest in 2012, courtesy of Anastasia Petryk and her entry “Nebo”. Furthermore, Ukraine has two runner-up finishes to their name. These were earned by Viktoria Petryk, Anastasia’s older sister, in 2008 and Sofia Tarasova on home soil in 2013.
Despite strong initial results, Ukraine’s fortunes at Junior Eurovision has dipped slightly in recent years. In fact, in 2015 and 2016, Ukraine missed the top 10 for two consecutive years with Anna Trincher placing 11th and Sofia Rol placing 14th respectively. Anastasiya Baginska was more successful in Tbilisi last year, with “Don’t Stop” finishing in 7th place. Ukraine had initially planned to withdraw from this year’s show but later confirmed their presence.
You can read about the country’s Junior Eurovision journey in our feature here.
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Belarus’s capital Minsk will be the host of the 2018 edition of Junior Eurovision. This is the second time the event takes place in the city, that previously hosted it in 2010. A record-breaking 20 countries will participate in Minsk on November 25. Wales and Kazakhstan will both make a debut with Kazakhstan participating for the first time to any Eurovision related event. Furthermore, the contest will also feature three returning countries: France, that last participated in 2004, Azerbaijan that last participated in 2013 and Israel that last participated in 2016. Unfortunately, Cyprus instead confirmed its withdrawal from the competition.
What is your favourite Ukrainian entry at Junior Eurovision? What kind of song are you hoping they will send to Minsk?
Let us know in the comments below or on social media @ESCXTRA.
