The preparations for the 20th Junior Eurovision Song Contest are in full swing and the EBU, alongside the Armenian broadcaster AMPTV, have just revealed the official theme for the contest, which is set to take place on the 11th of December in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

“Spin The Magic” is going to be the slogan for the junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was revealed in a video on the Junior Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel today. The theme comes with a beautiful artwork of an Armenian spinning top, which has traditional patterns that are very prominent in the country’s culture. This traditional toy has been have been given a neon twist, to reflect a modern Armenia and to represent the 20th spin of the competition.

Furthermore, the official list of participants also got revealed today, and these 16 countries are heading to Yerevan this December:

🇦🇱 Albania (RTSH)
🇦🇲 Armenia (AMPTV)
🇫🇷 France (France TV)
🇬🇪 Georgia (GPB)
🇮🇪 Ireland (TG4)
🇮🇹 Italy (Rai)
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan (Khabar Agency)
🇲🇹 Malta (PBS)
🇳🇱 Netherlands (AVROTROS)
🇲🇰 North Macedonia (MKRTV)
🇵🇱 Poland (TVP)
🇵🇹 Portugal (RTP)
🇷🇸 Serbia (RTS)
🇪🇸 Spain (TVE)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom (BBC)
🇺🇦 Ukraine (UA:PBC)

Four countries are therefore withdrawing from the competition, which are Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Germany and Russia. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, is returning to Junior Eurovision after 17 years of absence.

Martin Österdahl, the Executive Supervisor of both the senior and junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest, has stated his excitement about the participating countries and the special slogan this year and is looking forward to the show in December:

It’s exciting to be returning to the Armenian capital for the first time in over a decade to “Spin The Magic” on this special anniversary – and welcoming back the United Kingdom to the competition, our host country for Eurovision 2023.

Last year’s edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest was won by Maléna with the song “Qami Qami“. You can re-live her Eurovision performance here!

Are there any surprises in this year’s JESC line-up for you? How do you like the new theme and logo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and on our social media profiles! @escbubble