15 European countries will take part in the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest for Children which will be organized by Danish broadcaster DR in Copenhagen the 15th of November 2003 in close cooperation with EBU.
The interest to participate in the first annual Eurovision for Children was so huge among the European broadcasters that the EBU had to organize a draw to decide which countries would be in and which would not in the inaugural contest in the Danish capital Copenhagen. This led for instance to an exclusion of the Nordic countries Finland and Iceland, while all the three Scandinavian countries will be in.
“The Eurovision Song Contest for Children will be the showcase of youth musical talent across Europe, with all the appeal and excitement of the adult contest,” the Director of Television of the EBU, Bjørn Erichsen, said. The rules for the children's contest state that the performers must sing original songs in their own language, without any professional help, and that they have to be between eight and 15 years old on the date of the national final.
The countries and the national broadcasters selected were: Belgium (VRT/RTBF), Croatia (HRT), Denmark (DR), Germany (ARD/NDR), Greece (ERT), Latvia (LT), FYROM (MKRTV), Malta (MT/PBS), the Netherlands (NPB/AVRO), Norway (NRK), Romania (RO/TVR), Slovakia (SK/STV), Spain (TVE), Sweden (SE/SVT), and the United Kingdom (UKIB/ITV). Notice that Slovakia will participate in this autumn contest for children, although they withdraw from the original Eurovision for adults some years ago!
