Estonia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Estonia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Estonia
Participating broadcasterEesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR)
Participation summary
Appearances2
First appearance2023
Last appearance2024
Highest placement14th: 2024
Participation history
External links
ERR Eurovision website
Estonia's page at JuniorEurovision.tv Edit this at Wikidata
For the most recent participation see
Estonia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024

Estonia made its debut in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest at the 2023 contest in Nice, France. Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) were responsible for the country's participation, and selected Arhanna Sandra Arbma as the first Estonian representative for Junior Eurovision. Estonia finished in second-last place, scoring 49 points. Following a fourteenth place finish in 2024 with Annabelle and the song "Tänavad", ERR withdrew from the 2025 contest due to budget cuts.

History

Before participation

ERR broadcast the first two editions of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2003 and 2004, but did not participate because it would be too expensive.[1][2] Broadcasters from the Baltic countries, including Estonia, expressed interest in taking part in the 2016 contest.[3] This however did not materialise. 

Participation

On 29 August 2023, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) published the list of participating countries in the 2023 contest, which included Estonia.[4] On the same day, ERR announced that 11-year-old Arhanna Sandra Arbma would be Estonia's entrant.[5] Her song, "Hoiame Kokku" ("Let’s Stick Together"), written by Arhanna herself along with Karl-Ander Reismann [et], Leelo Tungal and Rael Laikre, was released on 16 October along with a music video.[6] At the contest Arhanna finished 15th with 49 points.

On 24 November 2023, ahead of the country's debut, ERR said that it was considering the possibility of making the singing competition Tähtede lava [et] its national final for Junior Eurovision.[7] This was confirmed the following 4 May, ahead of the final of Tähtede lava.[8] One day later, on 5 May 2024, Estonia selected Annabelle Ats as its entrant for the 2024 contest.[9] At the 2024 contest, held on 16 November 2024 in Spain, she performed song "Tänavad". Receiving 55 points, she finished in 14th place.

On 11 December 2024, Estonian broadcaster ERR confirmed withdraw from the 2025 contest due to budget cuts.[10]

Participation overview

Year Artist Song Language Place Points
2023 Arhanna "Hoiame kokku" Estonian, English 15 49
2024 Annabelle "Tänavad" Estonian 14 55

Commentators and spokespersons

The Estonian broadcaster, ERR, sent their own commentator to each contest in order to provide commentary in Estonian and Russian. Spokespersons were also chosen by the national broadcaster in order to announce the awarding points from Estonia. The table below lists the details of each commentator and spokesperson since the country's debut in 2023.

Year Channel(s) Commentator Spokesperson Ref.
2003 ETV Un­known Did not participate
[1]
2004
2005–2022 No broadcast N/A
2023 ETV2, ETV+ Marko Reikop (ETV2)
Aleksandr Hobotov and Julia Kalenda (ETV+) 		Iris Ashton
[11][12][13]
2024 Arhanna
[14][15][16][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Šein, Liivi (23 November 2004). "Laste Eurovisiooni lauluvõistluse võit läks Hispaaniasse" [Junior Eurovision Song Contest win goes to Spain]. Eesti Päevaleht (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 12 November 2022.
  2. ^ Ibrayeva, Laura (30 August 2023). "Estonia: Details Revealed for Arhanna Sandra Arbma's Junior Eurovision Entry". Eurovoix.
  3. ^ Granger, Anthony (19 November 2015). "JESC'15: The Baltic States Are Interested In Participating In Junior Eurovision". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  4. ^ "16 countries to send 'Heroes' to compete at 21st Junior Eurovision Song Contest" (Press release). European Broadcasting Union. 29 August 2023.
  5. ^ Tiits, Maiken (29 August 2023). "Eesti osaleb esimest korda noorte Eurovisiooni lauluvõistlusel" [Estonia takes part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the first time]. ERR (in Estonian).
  6. ^ Farren, Neil (16 October 2023). "Estonia: Arhanna Releases "Hoiame Kokku"". Eurovoix.
  7. ^ Grace, Emily (24 November 2023). "Estonia: Intends To Participate In Junior Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  8. ^ Mancheño, José Miguel (5 May 2024). "Estonia confirma su participación en Eurovisión Junior 2024 y elegirá a su representante este domingo" [Estonia confirms its participation in Junior Eurovision 2024 and will select its representative next Sunday]. ESCplus España (in European Spanish). Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  9. ^ Granger, Anthony (5 May 2024). "Estonia: Annabelle Ats to Junior Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  10. ^ Kook, Urmet (11 December 2024). "Nõukogu kinnitas ERR-i 2025. aasta eelarve koos kärbetega" [Council approves ERR's 2025 budget with cuts]. Eesti Rahvusringhääling (in Estonian). Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  11. ^ ERR (16 October 2023). "Noorte Eurovisioonil esindab Eestit võistluslugu "Hoiame kokku"". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Noorte Eurovisioon 2023 | ETV2". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Детское Евровидение 2023 | ETV+". ERR (in Russian). Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  14. ^ Rebane, Karmen (4 October 2024). "Eestit esindab noorte Eurovisioonil 13-aastane Annabelle Ats looga "Tänavad"" [Estonia will be represented at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest by 13-year-old Annabelle Ats with the song "Tänavad"]. Eesti Rahvusringhääling (in Estonian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  15. ^ Farren, Neil (2 November 2024). "Today: 🇪🇪 Estonia: Junior Eurovision 2024 Commentators Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  16. ^ ERR. "Noorte Eurovisioon 2024". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Детское Евровидение – 2024". ERR (in Russian). Retrieved 2 November 2024.