Suspilne, Ukraine’s public broadcaster, has received an impressive 510 applications for its national selection to represent the country at Junior Eurovision 2025 in Tbilisi. This includes 492 solo acts and 18 bands, smashing last year’s total by 201 submissions.
A rise in international engagement
This year’s application pool comprises singers from 17 different countries, including the UK, Switzerland, Poland, and the United States. Remarkably, about 10% of applicants submitted original songs. Female performers comprised 82% of the entries, with the remainder consisting of male acts.
Producers set “Star School” auditions
Music producer, Svitlana Tarabarova, described the response as “incredibly inspiring” and noted that the volume of interest reflects strong confidence in Ukraine’s JESC programme.
The selection process includes:
- A longlist of up to 15 acts, due by 22 July, chosen from the 510 entrants.
- These will enter “Star School”, a training phase under expert guidance.
- Six finalists will emerge from Star School.
- alyona alyona, Ukraine’s Eurovision 2024 entrant, will co-write entries for these finalists.
- The live national final is scheduled for October to select Ukraine’s representative.
Ukraine’s Junior Eurovision journey
In 2006, Ukraine made their debut in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, with Nazar Slyusarchuk and the song “Khlopchyk Rock ‘n’ Roll” (Хлопчик рок ‘н’ ролл), which placed 9th. Since their debut, the Eastern European nation has participated 17 times, and even won once in 2012 with Anastasiya Petryk and her song “Nebo” (Небо).
Following a fifth-place finish in 2023, Ukraine achieved another top-five finish in 2024, when Artem Kotenko and his song “Hear Me Now” placed third. He placed second in both individual voting categories, receiving 122 points from the jury and 81 from the televote, but was ultimately beaten out by Georgia and Portugal, respectively.
Did you expect such a huge number of applications? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Junior Eurovision 2025!
News Source: eurovoix.com
Photo Credit: Corinne Cumming / EBU
Rory Gannon 
Samantha