Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016

An announcement was made in December 2015, regarding the contract termination of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor Vladislav Yakovlev. Yakovlev was fired without any clear reasons after three contests, and was replaced by Jon Ola Sand who has been Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest since 2011.[4]

Stage design of the contest during Bulgarian performance

During a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden on 13 May 2016, the logo and slogan of the contest were released, intending to represent the contest's values: connectivity, diversity, creativity and respect.[5][6][7] The slogan for the contest was "Embrace". On 10 September 2016, it was revealed that each of the postcards preceding the participants' performances would showcase Malta.[8] Filming took place in various locations, including Hastings Gardens and City Gate.[9]

On 8 October 2016, PBS released details regarding the proposed stage design for the contest.[10] The design included a circular stage with an LED backdrop and a spiral structure.[11]

Vella and Camille during a rehearsal

On 28 October 2016, it was announced that Valerie Vella and Ben Camille would host the 2016 contest.[12] Vella is known in Malta as a television presenter, having hosted the Maltese national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002, 2009 and 2011.[13][14][15] She presented the Maltese votes at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000 and 2005[16] and commented on the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 and 2010,[17][18] as well as the Junior Eurovision Song Contest from 2004 to 2009.[19] Camille is also known both as a television presenter and an actor in Malta, notable for having acted in Maltese television show Strada Stretta.[20] He hosted Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016 and presented the Maltese votes in the Eurovision Song Contest that year.[21]

During the press conference for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016, held in Stockholm, the steering group announced several changes to the voting format for the 2016 contest. Previously, points had been awarded based on a combination of 50% national juries and 50% televoting, from each country with one more set of points also given out by a 'Kids' Jury'. The new voting system would be an adaptation of the new system used in the adult festival, but instead of the televoting, which was removed, a children's jury would be used by each country. In 2016, 1-8, 10, and 12 points were awarded based on a 50/50 combination of each country’s Adult and Kids' Jury, announced by a spokesperson. This brought an end to the use of televoting for the first time.[22] For the first time, an expert panel from the professional music industry provided feedback on each of the artists performances.[23] The members of the panel were: Christer Björkman, Mads Grimstad, and the 2011 and 2012, participants at the adult version Jedward.[24] Also for the first time since 2005 the starting 12 points were dropped. In 2005 these were added to make sure nobody would receive no points.

Jedward performed "Hologram" during the interval

It was announced on 3 November 2016 that last year's Junior Eurovision winner, Destiny Chukunyere, would be part of the interval act during the show. Poli Genova who represented Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 and 2016 and also hosted the last´s year contest, would also be a part of the interval acts, performing the song "If Love Was a Crime".[25][26] On 16 November 2016, along the experts juries, it was announced that Jedward would join the interval act by performing a new song entitled "Hologram".[27]

During the final, the participants of the contest performed the song "We Are", not to be confused with the Australian entry with the same name.[28]

•  Denmark – Right after the 2015 edition, Denmark's national broadcaster DR announced that they would "no longer" participate in further editions of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Jan Lagermand Lundme, the Entertainment President of DR, stated that the reason behind this decision was because the competition had become too much of a copy of the main Eurovision Song Contest and that the contest had strayed from its core idea—"the joy, the humor and the play".[41]
•  France – On 18 November 2015, it was reported that the French broadcaster France Télévisions was interested in returning to the contest.[42] Edoardo Grassi, the Head of Delegation for France in the Eurovision Song Contest, was one of the jury members at the Maltese national selection for the 2016 Junior Eurovision, and was introduced by the hosts of the show as being the Head of Delegation for France in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.[43] The broadcaster was ultimately not among the participants for the 2016 edition.
•  Slovenia – On 24 May 2016, the Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTVSLO) announced that they would withdraw from the contest for the first time since their debut in the 2014 edition of the contest. The broadcaster explained that the decision was made based on changes to the contest rules by the EBU, although not specifying which rule changes influenced their decision to withdraw from the competition.[44]
•   Switzerland – Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI) confirmed on 5 July 2016 that they would not return to the contest in 2016 due to the cost of the participation.[45]

The following broadcasters publicly declined to participate in the contest without providing any further explanations: