Format
The format of the contest has remained relatively unchanged over the course of its history in that the format consists of successive live musical performances by the artists entered by the participating broadcasters. The EBU claims that the aim of the programme is "to promote young talent in the field of popular music, by encouraging competition among the performers".
The programme is always screened on a Saturday night in late November/early December and lasts approximately two hours fifteen minutes.
Traditionally the contest will consist of an opening ceremony in which the performers are welcomed to the event, the performances of the entries, a recap of the songs to help televoting viewers decide which entries to vote for, an interval act usually performed after the televoting has closed, the results of the televoting or back-up jury voting which is then followed by the declaration of the winner and a reprise of the winning song. At various points throughout the show, networks may opt out for a few minutes to screen a commercial break.
Since 2008 the winning entry of each contest has been decided by a mixture of televoting and national juries, each counting for fifty percent of the points awarded by each country. The winners of all previous contests had been decided exclusively by televoting. The ten entries that have received the most votes in each country are awarded points ranging from one to eight, then ten and twelve. These points are then announced live during the programme by a spokesperson representing the participating country (who, like the participants, is aged between ten and fifteen). Once all participating countries have announced their results, the country that has received the most points is declared the winner of that year's contest.
The winners receive a trophy and a certificate. Unlike the Eurovision Song Contest, the winning country does not receive the right to host the next contest.
The contest always features presenters, one man and one woman (though the 2006 contest was an exception to this), who regularly appear on stage and with the contestants in the green room. The presenters are also responsible for repeating the televoting results immediately after the spokesperson of each broadcaster to confirm which country the points are being given to.
Despite the Junior Eurovision Song Contest being modelled on the format of the Eurovision Song Contest, there are many distinctive differences that are unique to the children's contest. For instance, while the main vocals must be sung live during the contest, backing vocals may be recorded onto the backing track. Each country's entry must be selected through a televised national final (unless circumstances prevent this and permission is gained from the EBU). Each country's performance is also allowed a maximum of eight performers on stage, as opposed to the original number of six in the Eurovision Song Contest. Since 2005 every contestant has automatically been awarded 12 points to prevent the contestants scoring zero points, although ending with 12 points total is in essence the same as receiving zero.
Read more about this topic: Junior Eurovision Song Contest