Albania in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
| Albania | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member station | Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) |
| National selection events | National final
|
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 7 |
| First appearance | 2012 |
| Highest placement | 5th: 2015 |
| External links | |
| Albania's page at JuniorEurovision.tv | |
 For the most recent participation seeAlbania in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 | |
Albania debuted in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), a member organisation of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has been responsible for the selection process of their participants since their debut.
The nation’s first representative was Igzidora Gjeta in 2012 with the song "Kam një këngë vetëm për ju" in, which achieved a score of thirty-five points, finishing in twelfth place out of twelve participating entries. The country was subsequently absent in 2013 and 2014. Albania returned to the contest in 2015, when Mishela Rapo represented them with the song "Dambaje", achieving ninety-three points and finishing in fifth place out of seventeen participating countries; this remains the country’s best score to date. Albania subsequently competed every year until 2020, when they had their first absence from the contest in six years after withdrawing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] However on 18 August 2021, RTSH announced that they will return to the contest in 2021.[2]
History[]
In 2005, Albanian broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) broadcast that year’s contest in Hasselt. On 14 August 2012, RTSH announced that they would be making their Junior Eurovision debut at the 2012 contest in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 1 December 2012.[3] The mechanism used at the time in order to select their representative was a national pre-selection show entitled Junior Fest Albania 2012.[4] Child-singer, Igzidora Gjeta, was the first participant to represent Albania with the song "Kam një këngë vetëm për ju",[5] which finished in twelfth place achieving a score of thirty-five points. This was Albania's worst result in their contest history.[6]
On 27 September 2013, RTSH announced that their withdrawal from the 2013 contest, with the EBU stating that the withdrawal was due to financial and organisational issues.[7] Albania continued to be absent from the contest in 2014,[8] and it was not until 13 March 2015 that RTSH announced their return to the competition.[9] The national selection show which was organised in order to select the 2015 participant was entitled Festivali i Këngës për Femije, and was won by Mishela Rapo with the song "Dambaje".[10] At the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, Rapo finished in fifth place, achieving ninety-three points and their best result to date.[11]
On 1 June 2016, Klesta Qehaja won the Festivali i Këngës për Femije with the song "Besoj", earning the right to represent Albania at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Valletta. She received thirty-eight points, therefore finishing thirteenth out of seventeen participating countries.[12]
Participation overview[]
| ◁ | Last place |
| Year | Entrant | Song | Language | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Igzidora Gjeta | "Kam një këngë vetëm për ju" | Albanian | 12 ◁ | 35 |
| 2015 | Mishela Rapo | "Dambaje" | Albanian, English, Imaginary | 5 | 93 |
| 2016 | Klesta Qehaja | "Besoj" | Albanian, English | 13 | 38 |
| 2017 | Ana Kodra | "Don't Touch My Tree" | Albanian, English | 13 | 67 |
| 2018 | Efi Gjika | "Barbie" | Albanian, English | 17 | 44 |
| 2019 | Isea Çili | "Mikja ime fëmijëri" | Albanian | 17 | 36 |
| 2021 | Anna Gjebrea | "Stand By You" | Albanian, English | 14 | 84 |
Commentators and spokespersons[]
The contests are broadcast online worldwide through the official Junior Eurovision Song Contest website junioreurovision.tv and YouTube. In 2015, the online broadcasts featured commentary in English by junioreurovision.tv editor Luke Fisher and 2011 Bulgarian Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrant Ivan Ivanov.[13] The Albanian broadcaster, RTSH, sent their own commentator to each contest in order to provide commentary in the Albanian language. Spokespersons were also chosen by the national broadcaster in order to announce the awarding points from Albania. The table below list the details of each commentator and spokesperson since 2012.
| Year | Commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Unknown | Did not participate | |
| 2006–2011 | No broadcast | ||
| 2012 | Andri Xhahu | Keida Dervishi | |
| 2013–2014 | No broadcast | Did not participate | |
| 2015 | Andri Xhahu | Majda Bejzade | |
| 2016 | Juna Dizdari | ||
| 2017 | Sabjana Rizvanu | ||
| 2018 | Daniil Lazuko | ||
| 2019 | Efi Gjika | ||
| 2020 | No broadcast | Did not participate | |
| 2021 | Andri Xhahu | Alex |
See also[]
- Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
- Albania in the Eurovision Young Dancers
- Albania in the Eurovision Young Musicians
References[]
- ^ García, Belén (2020-09-17). "Exclusive: Albania reveals the reasons behind Junior Eurovision withdrawal". ESCplus. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
- ^ Farren, Neil (2021-08-18). "