Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Explained

Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Year:2003
Final:15 November 2003
Director:Arne J. Rasmussen
Exproducer:Preben Vridstoft
Exsupervisor:Svante Stockselius
Host:Danmarks Radio (DR)
Venue:Forum Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Winner:
Vote:Each country awards 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs.
Entries:16
Bluenosemis:Y

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the inaugural edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest for young singers aged eight to fifteen. It was held on 15 November 2003, in Copenhagen, Denmark. With Camilla Ottesen and Remee as the presenters, the contest was won by the then eleven-year-old Dino Jelusić, who represented with his song "Ti si moja prva ljubav" (You are my first love) while second and third place went to and the respectively. The next time that a country would win on its first attempt was in .

It was the first Eurovision contest to be broadcast in the 16:9 widescreen and high definition, but was also offered to broadcasters in the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio. It was also the first Eurovision Song Contest where a DVD of the contest would be released. It was decided that the country that won the contest would not necessarily host the next contest, to reduce the pressure on the contestants. It was announced before the contest took place that the next edition would be held in the United Kingdom (although in the end this did not happen).

Origins and history

See also: Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The origins of the contest date back to 2000 when Danmarks Radio held a song contest for Danish children that year and the following year.[1] [2] The idea was extended to a Scandinavian song competition in 2002, known as MGP Nordic, with Denmark, Norway and Sweden as participants.[3] [4] The EBU picked up the idea for a song contest featuring children and opened the competition to all EBU member broadcasters making it a pan-European event. The working title of the programme was "Eurovision Song Contest for Children",[5] branded with the name of the EBU's long-running and already popular song competition, the Eurovision Song Contest.

Location

Denmark was asked to host the first programme after their experience with their own contests and the MGP Nordic.[6] Copenhagen was confirmed as the host city in November 2002.[7] In January 2003, it was announced that the Danish broadcaster would host the inaugural contest at the 8,000 capacity Forum venue in the Danish capital.[8]

Venue

Forum Copenhagen (Danish: Forum København) is a large multi-purpose, rentable indoor arena located in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark. It hosts a large variety of concerts, markets, exhibitions and other events. The venue can hold up to 10,000 people depending on the event. The Forum operates as a convention center, concert hall and indoor arena.

It was opened in February 1926 to host a car exhibition and was last renovated in 1996–97. Over two storeys there is a combined exhibition floor area of 5,000 m2 and a separate restaurant for up to 250 seated guests. The Metro station Forum is adjacent to the building. Forum Copenhagen was designed by Oscar Gundlach-Pedersen, and the lighting was from Poul Henningsen's brand new PH-lamp. In 1929 it held an architecture exhibition, which was one of the first presentations of functionalism in Denmark, namely the Housing and Building Exhibition in Forum. It was at this exhibition that Arne Jacobsen and Flemming Lassen exhibited their subscription to the cylindrical "House of the Future".

Participating countries

In May 2003, the EBU released the initial list of participants with 16 competing countries, in the first edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.[9] In an original press release for the contest, then entitled the "Eurovision Song Contest for Children", a draw was held to select 15 countries to take part in the inaugural contest, with Slovakian broadcaster Slovenská televízia (STV) and German broadcaster ARD being drawn to compete along with 13 other countries.

These countries would eventually be replaced by entries from, (added as 16th country before Germany and Slovakia withdrew) and, in their first ever Eurovision event. There were also reports that Finnish broadcaster Yle had planned to enter in the contest, but went on to just broadcast it instead.[10]

Prior to the event, a compilation album featuring all the songs from the 2003 contest, along with karaoke versions, was put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by Universal Music Group in November 2003.[11]

Participants of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003[12] !Country!Broadcaster!Artist!Song!Language!Songwriter(s)
BTRC"Belarusian: Tancuj|i=unset" (Belarusian: Танцуй)BelarusianKatsiaryna Lipouskaya
VRTX!NK"Dutch; Flemish: De vriendschapsband|i=unset"Dutch
HRTDino Jelusić"Croatian: [[Ti si moja prva ljubav]]|i=unset"CroatianDino Jelusić
CyBCTheodora Rafti"Greek, Modern (1453-);: Mia efhi|i=unset" (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Μια ευχή)GreekTheodora Rafti
DRAnne Gadegaard"Danish: Arabiens drøm|i=unset"DanishAnne Gadegaard
ERTNicolas Ganopoulos"Greek, Modern (1453-);: Fili gia panta|i=unset" (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Φίλοι για πάντα)GreekNicolas Ganopoulos
LTVDzintars Čīča"Latvian: Tu esi vasarā|i=unset"LatvianDzintars Čīča
MRTMarija and Viktorija"Macedonian: Ti ne me poznavaš|i=unset" (Macedonian: Ти не ме познаваш)MacedonianIrena Galabovska
PBSSarah Harrison"Like a Star"EnglishSarah Harrison
AVRORoel"Dutch; Flemish: Mijn ogen zeggen alles|i=unset"DutchRoel Felius
NRK2U"Norwegian: Sinnsykt gal forelsket|i=unset"Norwegian
TVP"Polish: Coś mnie nosi|i=unset"PolishKatarzyna Żurawik
TVRBubu"Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Tobele sunt viața mea|i=unset"RomanianBubu Cernea
TVESergio"Spanish; Castilian: Desde el cielo|i=unset"SpanishSergio Jesús García
SVT"Swedish: Stoppa mig|i=unset"SwedishRebecka Laakso
ITVTom Morley"My Song for the World"EnglishTom Morley

Format

Presenters

In February 2003, there was speculation regarding the potential host of the first ever Eurovision Song Contest for Children. Initially, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organizer of the show, announced the possible allocation of this role to Irish vocalist and Eurovision Song Contest 1997 co-host Ronan Keating although no contract had yet been signed.[13] On 10 October 2003, however, it was officially announced that the contest would be hosted by the Danish duo consisting of Camilla Ottesen and rapper Remee.[14]

Voting

All countries used televoting to decide on their top ten. In normal Eurovision fashion, each country's favourite song was given 12 points, their second favourite 10, and their third to tenth favourites were given 8–1 points.

Postcards

The postcards featured all of the participants (and their backing dancers/singers) exploring different parts of Copenhagen. The postcard's audio would be an instrumental version of the opening theme. The following list shows the various places they visited:

  1. The Tivoli Gardens
  2. Forum Copenhagen
  3. Royal Danish Theatre
  4. Danish Aquarium
  5. Strøget
  6. Copenhagen Lakes
  7. A hotel in Copenhagen
  8. Hairdressers in Copenhagen
  9. Parken
    1. Copenhagen Skatepark
  10. Copenhagen Zoo
  11. A hotdog stand in Copenhagen
  12. The Round Tower
  13. A riding school in Copenhagen
  14. An internet café in Copenhagen

Contest overview

The event took place on 15 November 2003 at 20:00 CET. Sixteen countries participated, with the running order published on 6 October 2003.[15] All the countries competing were eligible to vote by televote. Croatia won with 134 points, with Spain, the United Kingdom, Belarus, and Denmark, completing the top five. Macedonia, Norway, Cyprus, Sweden, and Poland, occupied the bottom five positions.[16]

The show was opened by Danish boy band and dance crew Dance Faction. The interval act included two British acts: the Sugababes performed "Hole in the Head", while Busted, with the exception of Charlie Simpson absent due to illness, performed "Crashed the Wedding".[17]

CountryArtistSongPointsPlace
1Nicolas Ganopoulos"Greek, Modern (1453-);: Fili gia panta|i=unset"538
2Dino Jelusić"Croatian: [[Ti si moja prva ljubav]]|i=unset"1341
3Theodora Rafti"Greek, Modern (1453-);: Mia efhi|i=unset"1614
4"Belarusian: Tancuj|i=unset"1034
5Dzintars Čīča"Latvian: Tu esi vasarā|i=unset"379
6Marija and Viktorija"Macedonian: Ti ne me poznavaš|i=unset"1912
7"Polish: Coś mnie nosi|i=unset"316
82U"Norwegian: Sinnsykt gal forelsket|i=unset"1813
9Sergio"Spanish; Castilian: Desde el cielo|i=unset"1252
10Bubu"Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Tobele sunt viața mea|i=unset"3510
11X!NK"Dutch; Flemish: De vriendschapsband|i=unset"836
12Tom Morley"My Song for the World"1183
13Anne Gadegaard"Danish: Arabiens drøm|i=unset"935
14"Swedish: Stoppa mig|i=unset"1215
15Sarah Harrison"Like a Star"567
16Roel"Dutch; Flemish: Mijn ogen zeggen alles|i=unset"2311

Spokespersons

  1. Chloe Sofia Boleti
  2. TBC
  3. TBC
  4. TBC
  5. David Daurins
  6. TBC
  7. TBC
  8. TBC
  9. Jimmy Castro
  10. TBC
  11. Judith Bussé
  12. Sasha Stevens
  13. TBC
  14. Siri Lindgren
  15. TBC
  16. Aisa

Detailed voting results

+ Detailed voting results[18]
scope="col"
Greece53 7 12 1 5 1 1 7 5 2 7 1 3 1
Croatia134 10 8 10 8 12 10 12 2 12 8 8 8 8 8 10
Cyprus16 12 1 3
Belarus103 5 12 6 10 10 12 10 1 7 5 5 4 7 6 3
Latvia37 5 8 4 3 3 1 3 1 3 6
Macedonia19 10 2 1 2 4
Poland3 3
Norway18 1 3 2 5 3 4
Spain125 8 8 10 6 12 8 8 6 8 10 12 6 6 10 7
Romania35 4 5 2 5 2 6 6 5
Belgium83 3 6 2 7 4 6 6 4 8 3 6 7 5 4 12
United Kingdom118 7 4 7 12 7 3 7 5 10 10 4 12 10 12 8
Denmark93 6 2 4 5 6 7 5 8 12 6 7 4 12 7 2
Sweden12 1 2 3 5 1
Malta56 2 3 3 4 1 4 7 4 1 10 10 2 5
Netherlands23 1 4 2 12 2 2

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points each country awarded to another:

N.ContestantNation(s) giving 12 points
3 ,,
,,
2,
,
,
1

Other countries

For a country to be eligible for potential participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, it needs to be an active member of the EBU. It is currently unknown whether the EBU issue invitations of participation to all 56 active members like they do for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Broadcasts

The rights to broadcast the contest were also acquired by broadcasters in Iceland (RÚV),[22] Finland (Yle), Serbia and Montenegro (RTS/RTCG), Estonia (ETV), Germany (KI.KA), Australia (SBS) and Kosovo (RTK). Some of the participating broadcasters also transmitted the programme live on radio.[23]

Country! scope="col"
Broadcaster(s)Commentator(s)
Belarus 1Denis Kurian
VRT TV1Dutch: Ilse Van Hoecke and Bart Peeters
RTBF La DeuxFrench: Corinne Boulangier
HRTUnknown
CyBCUnknown
DR1Nicolai Molbech
ERT1Masa Fasoula and Nikos Frantseskakis[24]
LTV1Kārlis Streips[25]
TVMUnknown
MTV 1Milanka Rašik
Nederland 1Angela Groothuizen
NRK1Stian Barsnes Simonsen
TVP2Jarosław Kulczycki
TVR1Ioana Isopecu and Alexandru Nagy
TVE1Fernando Argenta
SVT1Victoria Dyring
ITVMark Durden-Smith and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson[26]
Country! scope="col"
Broadcaster(s)Commentator(s)
SBS TV (delayed)[27]
ETVUnknown
YLE TV2Henna Vänninen and Olavi Uusivirta
KI.KA (delayed)Unknown
RÚVUnknown
RTCG, RTS, RTKUnknown

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: IMDb. 1 May 2000 . IMDB: Børne1'erens melodi grand prix 2000 . 3 May 2008.
  2. Web site: IMDb. 1 May 2001 . IMDB: de unges melodi grand prix 2001 . 3 May 2008.
  3. Web site: IMDb. 1 December 2002 . IMDB: MGP Nordic 2002 . 3 May 2008.
  4. Web site: esconnet.dk. 27 April 2002 . MGP Nordic 2002 . https://archive.today/20071025152934/http://www.esconnet.dk/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=30&id=440&Itemid=429 . dead . 25 October 2007 . da . 3 May 2008.
  5. Web site: European Broadcasting Union. 22 November 2002 . First EBU press release on JESC 2003 . 17 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20120914161834/https://www.ebu.ch/en/union/news/archives/2002/press_song_contest_kids.php. 14 September 2012.
  6. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20110611044835/http://www.junioreurovision.tv/page/contest-details?event=1475. Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003. 11 June 2011. 18 October 2020.
  7. Web site: Eurovision Copenhagen to host first EMGP. ESCToday.com. 27 November 2002. 30 March 2020.
  8. Web site: Eurovision Forum to host Eurovision for Children. ESCToday.com. 8 January 2003. 30 March 2020.
  9. Web site: Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003 . 1 August 2014 . European Broadcasting Union.
  10. Web site: TV-OHJELMA: YLE2 21:15 Junior Euroviisut 2003 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160816181540/http://netello.fi/tv?MODULI_id=467344 . 16 August 2016 . 17 April 2017 . netello.fi . fi.
  11. Web site: Various - Junior Eurovision Song Contest Copenhagen 2003 . 20 July 2020 . Discogs.
  12. Web site: Participants of Copenhagen 2003 - Junior Eurovision Song Contest . 2023-06-11 . junioreurovision.tv.
  13. Web site: Eurovision Ronan Keating may host Junior Eurovision. ESCToday.com. 22 February 2003. 30 March 2020.
  14. Web site: Eurovision Running order Junior Eurovision Song Contest known. ESCToday.com. 7 October 2003. 30 March 2020.
  15. Web site: 7 October 2003 . First ever Junior Eurovision Song Contest . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110515085459/http://www.ebu.ch/en/union/news/archives/2003/tcm_6-8108.php . 15 May 2011 . 1 August 2014 . European Broadcasting Union.
  16. Web site: Final of Copenhagen 2003 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210407194917/https://eurovision.tv/event/riga-2003/final . 7 April 2021 . 28 May 2021 . European Broadcasting Union.
  17. Web site: 17 October 2003 . Eurovision Sugababes and Busted interval acts Junior Eurovision . 30 March 2020 . ESCToday.com.
  18. Web site: Results of the Final of Copenhagen 2003 . European Broadcasting Union . 28 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210528175044/https://junioreurovision.tv/event/copenhagen-2003/final/results . 28 May 2021 . live.
  19. Web site: Deutschland nimmt am Junior ESC 2020 teil. 2020-07-08. eurovision.de. de. 2020-09-08.
  20. Web site: Junior ESC. esckaz.com.
  21. Web site: Ireland: RTE Denies Interest In Junior Eurovision. Anthony. Granger. 12 December 2013. 18 January 2020.
  22. Web site: The Event - EBU Press Conference. 9 October 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20061009021929/http://www.junioreurovision.tv/archive_2003/english/901.htm. 9 October 2006.
  23. Web site: The new Junior Eurovision Song Contest in high definition. European Broadcasting Union. https://web.archive.org/web/20120928193223/https://www.ebu.ch/en/union/news/archives/2003/tcm_6-7918.php. 28 September 2012. 17 April 2017.
  24. News: Επιλογές / 21:00, ET1 "Eurovision Junior". TV choices / 21:00, ET1 "Eurovision Junior". Zouboulakis. I.. 1 November 2003. To Vima. 49. el.
  25. Web site: Tuvojas "mazā" Eirovīzija. diena.lv. 29 July 2018.
  26. Web site: Junior Eurovision Song Contest . UKGameshows . 12 August 2012.
  27. Web site: EBU.CH :: EBU news - 2003_11_17. 28 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120928063047/http://www.ebu.ch/en/union/news/archives/2003/tcm_6-7909.php. 28 September 2012.