The Eurpean Broadcasting Union has announced further changes to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest that will take effect from 2007. Earlier this week, we spoke to Svante Stockselius about the reasoning and expectations behind the change to the 2006 televoting structure. Today we can report that the overhaul of the competition will continue next year as the EBU moves to improve and strengthen the contest. Changes including raising the minimum age of the competitors, replacing the singing girl logo and increasing broadcaster input.
The 5th annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands,towards the end of 2007. Earlier today, news broke about the age change when Belgian broadcaster, VRT, published their rules and application form for entry to Eurosong for Kids 2007online. Our partner site Belgovision.com caught the news which spread quickly to other sites.
TheEBU Steering Committeeapproved an important change in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest rules during their meeting last Monday in Bucharest. The minimum age for children to participate in the contest rises to 10. Until this year, children aged 8 or 9 could also take part in the contest.
The 'singing girl' logo will be dropped after the 2006 competition. All broadcasters taking part in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest will beinvited to design a new logo for the festival. Their ideas can be submitted until the beginning of March 2007. The Steering Group of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, lead by Belgian Steve De Coninck-De Boeck, will then take a look at all proposals.
The current logowas created for the first Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen in 2003. The new logo will be used for the first time by Dutch broadcaster AVRO, the organizer of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
