After lengthy consideration Walloon broadcaster RTBF has cancelled the results of last week's semifinal of Eurokids 2004. Winner Bess (12) has been accused of plagiarism and has been disqualified from the contest. At today's live show, RTBF declared Free Spirits the new winner.
In an official statement, RTBF announced that last week's semifinal winner Bess has broken the EBU rules of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Therefore the 12 year-old girl from Liège has been disqualified from the contest and last week's results have been declared invalid. Bess's song Laissez-les vivre included two of four stanzas of a song recorded under the same title in 1991.
RTBF has internally made up a new ranking. Free Spirits has now officially won last week's semifinal with the song Accroche-toi. Tonight, the second semifinal of Eurokids 2004 takes place in Wallonia, Belgium.
