Finnish broadcaster Ale has ruled out participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 due to cost.
Finland has currently ruled out participating in the 2024 Junior Eurovision Song Contest due to financial reasons. Marc Mastomäki, head of children’s programs at Yale University, told Eurofestival that Finland will not participate in the contest for economic reasons.
Like broadcasters across Europe, Yale has been under pressure from the inflation of the past two years. This means that Ale does not have the extra funds to take part in events such as the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which costs €100,000 to participate.
Finland’s public broadcaster sent observers to the 21st Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Nice, France. Matti Miljaho, deputy head of Finland’s Eurovision delegation and UMK’s associate producer, was in Nice for the contest.
Finland has not shown any interest in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest since the first competition in 2003. In 2003, Ire was one of several non-participating countries to broadcast the first contest, but the contest has not yet been broadcast.
However, Ale is a former participant in MGP Nordic, a children’s contest for Nordic broadcasters that took place in the 2000s. Until 2021, the Swedish channel held an annual children’s singing contest, “MGP Melody Grand Prix.”
Junior Eurovision 2024
France’s Zoe Crojour won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Nice, France with 228 points. She topped both the jury vote and the online vote, giving France her third win and extending her back-to-back wins to 2022. The country that will host the 2024 contest has not yet been announced.
However, the following countries have confirmed their participation:
It is expected that interested broadcasters will need to confirm their intention to participate in Junior Eurovision 2024 by late July.
Image source: EBU / Corinne Cumming | Source: Eurofestival
