As time progresses, more and more countries reveal if whether or not they will be participating at Junior Eurovision 2023. The next country to reveal this is Belgium, as VRT confirms it will not be present in the competition in Nice.
No reason given for non-participation
VRT’s confirmation of their non-participation was revealed to Eurofestivales. The broadcaster did not provide an explanation for their absence. However, the broadcaster has mentioned that they will reconsider participation next year.
Belgium’s participation in this year’s contest is now in the hands of RTBF. However, the broadcaster has previously confirmed non-participation in the competition citing the cost of participation.
Belgium’s non-participation will see them miss the competition for the 11th year in a row. Belgium has not participated since 2012, when the contest took place in Amsterdam.
About Junior Eurovision 2023
Junior Eurovision 2023 landed in ‘Nice’ after France won the competition for a second time in Yerevan, where its 2022 representative Lissandro won the competition with “Oh Maman”. This year’s competition will take place on the 26th of November at 16:00CET in Nice, at the Palais Nikaïa in Nice, which can accomodate up to 9,000 spectators.
At the time of writing the following countries have been confirmed for this year’s contest:
- 🇫🇷 France (Host Country)
- 🇬🇪 Georgia – Anastasia Vasadze
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- 🇲🇹 Malta
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇲🇰 North Macedonia – Tamara Grujeska
- 🇵🇱 Poland
- 🇵🇹 Portugal
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇺🇦 Ukraine
Belgium’s Junior Eurovision Journey
In 2003, Belgium was one of the countries that participated in the inaugural edition of the competition, where they were represented by X!NK with the song “De vriendschapsband”, which placed 6th. Since their debut, they have participated ten times, with their best result in 2009 (4th). Their latest attempt was in 2012, when Fabian represented them with the song “Abracadabra”, which placed 5th.
Are you disappointed that Belgium will not be participating in this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest? Would you like them to return to the competition in the future? Let us know in the comments below or on social media. Don’t forget to follow ‘THAT Eurovision Site’ over at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok as we prepare for Junior Eurovision 2023..
News Source: Eurofestivales
Photo Credit: EBU
