Ukraine has selected its act for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026. 11-year-old Erika Kolesnichenko will fly the Ukrainian flag in Ta’ Qali with the song “NE kolyskova”.
Erika wins Junior Vidbir 2026
The final of Junior Vidbir 2026 took place on September 26th, hosted by Timur Miroshnychenko, Anna Tulyeva and Anastasiia Dymyd. Six acts competed, with the result decided by a 50/50 combination of jury and public voting.
The jury for this year’s selection included:
- Dmitry Shurov – musician, composer and music composer for Vidbir
- SKYLERR – singer
The results of the national selection are as follows:
| Artist | Song | Professional Jury | Public Vote | Total | Position |
| Erika Kolesnichenko | “NE kolyskova” | 5 | 6 | 11 | 1st |
| Zlata Solonenko | “Who Am I” | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2nd |
| Marko Serdynskyi | “Hory” | 4 | 4 | 8 | 3rd |
| Anastasiia Poshedina | “Kryla” | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4th |
| Roman Doroshenko | “Say Hello” | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5th |
| Dmytro Karabet | “Mamo” | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6th |
Erika and Zlata were tied for first place, but Erika was crowned as the winner of the night after winning the public vote.
Junior Eurovision 2026 continues to take shape
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is due to take place at 21.00 CEST, on Saturday 24 October, live from the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre (MFCC) in Ta’ Qali. Malta’s broadcaster PBS are hosting the contest for the third time, having done so previously in 2014 and 2016.
The full list of the 16 competing broadcasters is as follows:
- 🇦🇱 RTSH (Albania) – Eslin Kurti – “Kërce me mua”
- 🇦🇲 AMPTV (Armenia) – Naré – “BOO!”
- 🇨🇾 CyBC (Cyprus) – Harry Georgiou – “Who I Can Be”
- 🇫🇷 France Télévisions (France) – Alec – “Comment Tu Vas ?”
- 🇬🇪 GPB (Georgia) – Davit Lomidze – “Sun on the Rooftops”
- 🇮🇪 TG4 (Ireland)
- 🇮🇹 Rai (Italy) – Matteo – “Che Cos’è l’Amore?”
- 🇲🇹 PBS (Malta – host) – Beppe – “Blue Bird”
- 🇲🇪 RTCG (Montenegro) – Mija Mujović – “Muzika Nas Spaja”
- 🇳🇱 AVROTROS (Netherlands) – Maria – “Stronger Together”
- 🇲🇰 MKRTV (North Macedonia) – Ana Stojanoska – “Idnata jas”
- 🇵🇱 TVP (Poland) – Wiktor Sas – “Gravity”
- 🇵🇹 RTP (Portugal) – Salvador Rio – “Alma”
- 🇸🇲 SMRTV (San Marino) – Violamarie – “Ruota Panoramica”
- 🇪🇸 RTVE (Spain) – Lucas Paulano – “Cuore Bello (Te Quiero, Te Quiero)”
- 🇺🇦 Suspilne (Ukraine) – Erika Kolesnichenko – “NE kolyskova”
Ukraine’s Junior Eurovision journey
Ukraine made their debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 with Nazar Slyusarchuk and the song “Khlopchyk Rock ‘n’ Roll” (Хлопчик рок ‘н’ ролл), which finished 9th. Since their debut, the country has participated 17 times, and even won once in 2012 with Anastasiya Petryk and her song “Nebo” (Небо).
Following a third place in 2024, Ukraine achieved another top 5 finish in 2025, when Sofiia Nersesian and her song “Motanka” finished second. She received 79 points from the jury and 98 from the online vote, ultimately winning the online vote.
Do you like “NE kolyskova”? As always, 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 2026!
News Source: Suspilne
Photo Credit: Suspilne
Fernando Koziel