A few weeks ago, the EBU announced that they had already decided where the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 would be going: to Minsk in Belarus!
It happens quite often that the winner of last year’s edition is hosting next year’s edition as the winner gets ”first refusal”, meaning they’ve earned the hosting rights by winning that year’s edition, but that they can pass up on it if they want.
In 2014 that rule was scrapped and RAI used this to decline the hosting duty, after which Bulgaria got the honour of organising Junior Eurovision 2015. This year the EBU were quick in deciding where next year’s contest should go, weeks before the contest even. This has, according to the EBU themselves, has been done to ensure the longivety of the contest as well as to give the hosting country more than enough time to properly organise everything.
Belarus have, through Vasily Zharko, Deputy Prime Minister, also announced the contest will be held at Minsk Arena! Zharko was appointed head of the organising committee for Junior Eurovision 2018 by President Lukashenko signing a document on the organisation of next year’s contest.
Minsk Arena is the same venue they used when they hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, back in 2010. The venue is a multi-use indoor arena that can accomodate up to 15.000 spectators. Back in 2010 the contest was hosted by Denis Kourian and Leila Ismailava. Who will be receiving the hosting duties this time is unknown as of yet.
