Georgia has won the XXII edition of Junior Eurovision 2024 which, for the first time in history, was hosted by the Caja Mágica in Madrid this Saturday, November 16, while the Spanish representative, Chloe DelaRosa, has achieved sixth place, with her ‘ Like Lola’, obtaining a total of 144 points, 80 from the professional jury and 64 from the spectators.
With the votes of the professional jury, Georgia (180 points), Ukraine (122) and France (103) topped the classification. Finally, after adding 59 more points from the public vote, the mini crystal microphone went, for the fourth time, to Georgia and her representative Andria Putkaradze, with ‘To My Mom’, a song in honor of her mother. The second and third places went to Portugal (213 points) and Ukraine (203 points).
Before thousands of spectators equipped with light bracelets and different flags, Chloe DelaRosa has performed ‘Como la Lola’ in tenth position in the children’s contest and together with her dance team, made up of Ilinca Nour, María Barrios, Amy Gómez-Limón and Laia Núñez. As soon as the performance began, the little girl put the audience in her pocket. Energetic, confident and with determination, the representative of Spain gave everything until the end, in which she shouted: “It’s for you, Lola.” The audience’s applause put the finishing touch to a joyful and vibrant performance.
Shortly before going on stage full of natural elements such as flowers and plants, the ‘singer’, as she defines herself (a mix of singer and artist), said she felt “very good, calm, eager to give everything, yes.” “. An admirer of Rosario, the little girl claimed that thanks to her she met Lola Flores. “It freaks me out,” he confessed.
The XXII edition of the contest has kicked off with the opening performance that symbolizes the birth of a garden, since the seed of this festival was planted 20 years ago until today, already flourishing with the artists. The music, the work of Federico Jusid, has been accompanied by choreography by Borja Rueda, performed by a corps de ballet made up of 21 male and female dancers, each representing one of the 17 participating countries.
María Isabel, Sandra Valero and Zoé Clauzure – emblematic figures of Junior Eurovision in Spain – have performed the song, throughout which all the contestants have introduced themselves. With Chloe’s appearance on stage, the audience burst into shouts and applause for the Spanish woman.
OPENS ITALY AND CLOSES MALTA
The competition began with Simone Grande, representative of Italy, who opened the gala with her song ‘Pigiama Party’. Estonia has followed with Annabelle Ats and her urban song ‘Tänavad’; Albania with Nikol Çabeli and the song ‘Vallëjoz’; Armenia with Leo and his song ‘Cosmic Friend’; Cyprus with Maria Pissarides and the song ‘Crystal Waters’; France with Titouan and the song ‘Comme Ci, Comme Ça’; North Macedonia with the duo formed by Anna & Aleksej and their ‘Marathon’; Poland with Dominik Arim and his ‘All Together’.
They have continued Georgia with Andria Putkaradze and her ‘To My Mom’; Spain with Chloe DelaRosa and ‘Como la Lola’; Germany with Bjarne and his ‘Save the Best for Us’; Netherlands with Stay Tuned and their ‘Music’; San Marino with Idols SM and ‘Come Noi’; Ukraine with Artem Kotenko and ‘Hear me now’; Portugal with Victoria Nicole and ‘Esperança’; Ireland with Enya Cox Dempsey and her ‘Le Chéile’; and Malta with Ramires Sciberras, and his song ‘Stilla Ckejkna’. The traditional ‘postcards’, the videos prior to each performance, have integrated reality and the metaverse.
After the time for voting has closed, the turn of the singer and composer Abraham Mateo has arrived. With an artistic career spanning 14 years, he has performed ‘Maníaca’, a version of the classic with a modern touch. Internationally recognized for his impressive performances and compositions, the artist from Cádiz and his dance group have made the entire Caja Mágica auditorium vibrate.
The final of the children’s contest was presented by the singer Ruth Lorenzo, the actor Marc Clotet and the Eurovision star Melani, who remembered those affected by the passage of DANA in the Valencian Community, and included comments from the DJ and announcer radio host Tony Aguilar and TVE presenter Julia Varela. ‘Let’s Bloom’ has been the motto chosen for this edition organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Spanish Radio Television (RTVE).
Until now, only María Isabel, with her song ‘Better dead than simple’, has managed to win the trophy 20 years ago in Lillehammer, Norway. Spain has achieved three second places in 2003, 2005 and last year, in 2023, with Sandra Valero and her ‘Loviu’, as well as two third places in 2019 and 2020.