Campaign pushes for Welsh return to Eurovision
Molly Stubbs
A campaign has been launched for Wales to return to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC) in 2026.
After competing in the JESC in 2018 and 2019, placing 20th and 18th in the finals respectively, Wales withdrew in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and has not returned since.
The campaign group, JESC Cymru, has urged S4C, Welsh music fans, and Eurovision lovers to push for a return to the competition, saying “other countries have made comebacks, so why not us? Let’s raise our voices and show our support.”
Contest
The JESC is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and has been held annually since 2003. It was created after European states including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Poland held youth singing competitions.
The main difference between the JESC and the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is that, in the junior version, the song must be predominantly in the language of the country it represents.
There have previously been calls for a Welsh-language entry or full Welsh delegation to be sent to the main ESC, but as BBC Studios holds the contract to produce the UK coverage of the contest until 2028, a separate Welsh entry is not possible and a Welsh-language entry is unlikely.
As for the Junior ESC, S4C and BBC Alba hold the broadcast contracts in Wales and Scotland, but can only send delegations from those countries if there is no delegation to represent the UK as a whole, in which case the BBC withdraws, as happened in 2024.
Despite this, S4C said it would not send a Welsh delegation to the 2024 contest as the BBC decision came so late it did “not allow enough time” for the Welsh-language broadcaster to change its plans.
Manw, who represented Wales in the 2018 competition, expressed her disappointment that Wales would not send an entry to the 2024 contest. She said: “I feel like Wales has lost an opportunity to showcase the Welsh language and young talent on a global, modern level by not having representation this year.
“It’s sad that we’ve only competed twice before Covid hit and disrupted the momentum.”
S4C has since confirmed it will not compete in JESC this year.
Campaign
An open letter from JESC Cymru was posted to their social media channels on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram prior to the announcement that a Welsh delegation would not participate in JESC 2025.
It has garnered support from musicians, past Eurovision entrants and Eurovision fans alike, including Tara Bandito, Yws Gwynedd, Andorra’s 2009 ESC representative Susanne Georgi, ‘Ireland’s number 1 Eurovision podcast’ the Éirevision podcast, and Sara Davies who has campaigned for a separate Welsh entry into the main ESC.
View this post on Instagram
Owen Purcell, a representative for JESC Cymru, said: “I would love to see Welsh brought to the Eurovision Stage, and there are some great Welsh artists that I think would do great at the contest and hopefully the momentum with exploring these languages can be something that brings change to the participation in the senior contest too.”
However, JESC Cymru were disappointed to learn that there would be no 2025 entry despite support for the campaign, writing on X: “Unfortunately, Wales will not be returning to Junior Eurovision in 2025. While this is disappointing news, our campaign is far from over!”
They had hoped the broadcaster would reconsider, but provided another update that the decision will not be revisited until 2026 at the earliest.
‘Naive’
Owen said: “I would love to see a return to the contest this year [2025], but I would be naive to think it would be that easy. S4C are a smaller broadcaster than most, and it would take time and resources to bring Wales back to the contest.”
Though Owen is not from Wales nor a Welsh speaker, he shared his love for the language and Eurovision in general, explaining: “I can safely say that I think Eurovision was what started my love for languages especially minority ones. It’s the only platform that I can think of which is as accessible as it is and showcases as many languages as it does.
“I think the Welsh language is so important because of its history, and its culture. I think of Welsh language and I think of all those before us who campaigned to keep the language alive, who campaigned for Welsh language media and the legacy they have left behind. I believe that those people would also want to see them shining on that stage today.
“Seeing [the Welsh language] shine on a global stage is so important for a variety of reasons. It encourages others to learn the language, research the history and educate themselves further as well as providing Welsh talent the chance to showcase their history, identity and culture.”
Efforts
In January this year, MSs discussed a petition that had been created by Nation.Cymru calling for Wales to compete in the senior ESC.
Bakel Walden, from the EBU, observed: “As the BBC continues to participate, and remains the rights holder in the United Kingdom, this means an entry from the individual nations of the UK is therefore not possible at the Eurovision Song Contest.”
Support for a Welsh act at Eurovision remains strong, with Welsh artists Bendigaydfran and Popeth releasing a guerrilla Welsh entry for the 2025 senior ESC, while Sara Davies’ 2024 Wales4Eurovision campaign received significant backing.
Despite Wales’ ineligibility for the senior ESC, the opportunity for a young Welsh performer to compete in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 and beyond, provided the BBC withdraws from the contest, is still open.
Owen added: “I’m continuing to open dialogues with more Welsh artists and talents as well as people from the Eurovision world, and hopefully as we move further into the year we can continue to gain that support and showcase the love for Wales and it’s language.
“I would love to work with S4C to showcase the opportunity of the contest to them and to work on bringing to wider audience.
“I would simply say to readers, engage with us. Write to S4C, create the dialogue with others around you and get involved! I recall the petition that was discussed in Welsh Senedd about participation in the senior contest so talk your Senedd members as this could genuinely be a reality and highlight those opportunities.
“My goal is simply to continue celebrating Young Welsh talent and to preserve and promote the language to even more people.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Do yourselves a favour UK. Enter ‘Yma O Hyd’ with Dafydd Iwan and the massed ranks of Y Wal Goch. Europe won’t be ready for a UK entry not in English and they will love it. No? Oh ok. Stay on the right hand side of board then.
I’ve never heard something so British empire. Isn’t it wrong that the beeb can decide whether Wales or Scotland can enter either of the euro vision competitions or not?
If the Republic of San Marino with a population of 33,860 were able to enter the Eurovision Song Contest this year being the size of a postage stamp, surely we can, The Land of Song, with 3,164,000 million people. The UK entry continually omits my country’s representation with its Union Flag , therefore don’t care if they win or lose. I would if Cymru entered.