Armenia has won the Junior Eurovision 2026. Nare triumphs with the song "BOO!", bringing the country its third victory in the contest.
In second place was Lucas Paulano from Spain with the song "Cuore Bello (Te Quiero, Te Quiero)". Third place went to France's Alec with the song "Comment Tu Vas?".
France was in the lead in the jury vote, but Armenia won the public vote. The final winner was determined by combining both types of votes. This year's edition featured representatives from 16 countries.
The contest was held in Malta
The host of the “Junior Eurovision Song Contest“ was the town of Ta' Qali in Malta. The event took place after France refused to organize the contest in 2026. The decision was announced by the French broadcaster France Télévisions on 18 December 2025.
France has won four editions of the contest – in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2025. This was the second time in three years that the country has withdrawn from hosting after winning.
DARA represented Bulgaria in Malta
A special guest at the musical event was the Bulgarian singer DARA. She performed the song “Bangaranga“, with which she represented Bulgaria at “Eurovision“ 2026, held in May in Vienna.
DARA shared the beginning of the performance with Lou Deleuze – the winner of last year's edition of the young talent contest. The Bulgarian singer's appearance was part of the program during the break of the competition.
Bulgaria remained out of this year's edition
Bulgaria did not participate in the contest in 2026. The country's best ranking is the second place of Krisia, Hassan and Ibrahim in 2014 with the song “Planeta na kita“. A year later, Sofia hosted the contest.
“Junior Eurovision“ is a music contest for children, organized by the European Broadcasting Union. After Armenia's victory, the host of the next edition is yet to be determined, as the winning country is not automatically obliged to organize the contest.
Sources: nova.bg