Junior Eurovision 2023 brings together 16 countries in Nice

In Nice, the Juniors prepare for Eurovision like the adults. There are the heady choruses, the improbable vocalizations, the flashing lights, the strange costumes, the little flags waved during the endless ranking... but France has won two of the last three editions: welcome to Junior Eurovision, organized Sunday afternoon in Nice. At the Palais Nikaia, a large multifaceted performance hall in Nice, preparations have been going well for almost three weeks to install the stage and launch rehearsals, first with understudies then with the young singers. Delegations from the sixteen countries involved arrived last Sunday, colonizing an entire hotel in Nice. Around the competitors, aged 9 to 14, there is indeed a swarm of singers and dancers, but also producers, vocal coaches, press officers, not forgetting the parents.

Competitors from previous years also made the trip, giving the week, despite the intense pace of rehearsals and requests, the feel of an international summer camp which pleased Fia, who came to represent Germany. “I’m super happy, I’ve made lots of memories, on stage and off. I made lots of friends,” explains this 11-year-old Berliner born in Shanghai, who sings while translating into sign language for her disabled little sister. Like most of the other participants, she was spotted during a talent show like The Voice Kids in her country. Enough to already be accustomed to the requirements of a television show, but Eurovision, even in the junior version, is another scale. “The stage is so much bigger! I'm really nervous for Sunday. And impatient,” she explains.

Also read Who is Zoé Clauzure, the French representative at Junior Eurovision 2023?

As with the greats, the songs alternate between the sober and the eccentric, English and each person's languages, pop and traditional sounds. The ages also change the situation, between the face of the Ukrainian Anastasia, 9 years old, and the “girls band” of quasi-pro British teenagers Stand Uniqu3. However, a very clear trend emerges: with the exception of a Dutch duo and a mixed Georgian trio, all the competitors are girls. “We won with Lissandro last year, but it’s very feminine this year. I like the idea, I find it cool. Women are in the spotlight,” rejoices Alexandra Redde-Amiel, head of the French delegation and major organizer of the show. Well in tune, the Frenchwoman Zoé Clauzure, 12 years old, takes on a very “girly” proposition, singing all dressed in pink on a heart-shaped pink piano. Already very professional, she continues interviews with a smile. “The rhythm is a little complicated but the rehearsals went really well, we are starting to have a good level,” she rejoices. Next door, her mother calls for heating, worried to see her forced to answer televisions in her little pink dress despite the cold which reigns in the empty, concrete alleys of the Nikaia Palace.

In the large, still empty room, everyone was entitled to two half-hour slots to properly nail their song before the dress rehearsal on Saturday afternoon, the images of which will be sent to the juries of each country. As with the big boys, the famous “12 points” of each jury will be announced during the show on Sunday afternoon. The public vote, which will count for half of the final ranking, is already open on the internet. A major exception to the rules for the big boys: viewers can vote for the candidate from their own country. This has not weighed down the small countries since Georgia holds the record with three victories since the first edition in 2003. And this does not even explain the two recent French victories, while France has no longer won Eurovision seniors since 1977: last year, Lissandro's accuracy and energy above all ensured the vote of the professional juries.