Junior Eurovision 2023 has wrapped up in Nice, France, with 16 acts competing for the coveted Junior Eurovision trophy!
To celebrate, we're taking a look at some interesting facts about this year's results!
**There will be spoilers below!**
Let's look at the countries in order of where they finished in the Contest, starting with the winner: France!
1st - France
It is France's third Junior Eurovision win, just three years after Valentina's first win in 2020 with 'J'imagine'.
France is now tied with Georgia as the country with the most Junior Eurovision wins (3). France also becomes the second country to achieve back to back wins after Poland who won in both 2018 and 2019.
Zoé Clauzure's points total of 228 is also the third highest winning Junior Eurovision song, and highest scoring French Junior Eurovision song.
'Cœur' won both the jury and online vote, making it the fourth year in a row that France has won with the juries. They have also finished in the top four of the online vote every year since their return to the Junior Contest in 2018.
France scored four sets of 12 points from the jury. It is the equal most sets of 12 points awarded to a Junior Eurovision winning song since 2017, when Russia scored four sets of 12 points for their winning entry 'Wings'. Last year's French winner Lissandro also achieved this feat.
France's 2023 win is the fifth time a "Big 5" country (in terms of the main Eurovision contest) has won Junior Eurovision.
'Cœur' becomes the third song to win from 12th in the running order. Previous winners from 12th were France's Valentina in 2020 and Georgia's Candy in 2011.
The song continues France's run of seven Junior entries sung in French, with only two entries also featuring English since their return in 2018. It is the third time a song sung in French has won the Contest.
Zoé Clauzure is the fourth female singer to represent France at Junior Eurovision and their second female singer to win. The last female singer to win was Armenia's Maléna in 2021.
2nd - Spain
Sandra Valero's runner up finish with 'Loviu' gives Spain their third 2nd place and 8th Top 10 finish. With nine total entries at Junior Eurovision, all but one have finished in the Top 6 including a win in 2004.
With a total of 201 points, 'Loviu' is Spain's second highest scoring Junior Eurovision entry ever behind only Melani Garcia in 2019 (212 points). It is their best result since 2005.
Spain came second in the online public vote. It is the fourth time Spain has achieved this since the country's return to Junior Eurovision in 2019.
3rd - Armenia
Armenia's Yan Girls achieved their country's 10th top 3 finish out of 16 appearances including wins in 2010 and 2021. 'Do It My Way' is Armenia's equal third highest scoring entry. Remarkably Armenia has never finished outside the Top 10, their lowest placing being 9th in 2018 and 2019.
4th - United Kingdom
The United Kingdom's 4th place is their best result since 2004. In fact 'Back to Life' is their highest scoring entry ever (160 points). In their five appearances at the Contest, the United Kingdom has only finished outside the Top 5 once.
5th - Ukraine
Ukraine achieved their best result since 2018 and their sixth Top 5 finish. 13 of their 18 entries have finished in the Top 10, including their only win in 2012.
6th - Poland
'I Just Need A Friend' by Poland's Maja Krzyżewska is the country's 7th entry in a row to finish in the Top 10. It is their best result since 2021. Seven of Poland's 10 entries have all managed to finish in the Top 10, including two wins and one runner-up.
7th - The Netherlands
As the only country to compete in every Junior Eurovision Song Contest since its beginning in 2003, the Netherlands has finished in the Top 10 in 13 out of their 21 appearances. 'Holding on to You' continues the tradition of being the 11th Dutch entry in a row to feature both Dutch and English.
8th - Albania
Albania's 8th finish with 'Bota ime' has given them their highest scoring Junior Eurovision entry ever and their second best result after a 5th place in 2015.
9th - Germany
With 2023 being only their third entry in the Contest, Fia achieved Germany's best ever result with 'Ohne Worte', including a very impressive fourth place in the online vote. Overall their first top 10 finish.
10th - Malta
This is Malta's 11th top 10 finish out of 19 appearances in the Contest. It is their best result since 2020.
11th - Italy
Italy just missed the Top 10 for the second year in a row. Their best result remains their debut winning entry in 2014.
12th - North Macedonia
Incredibly North Macedonia's 12th place this year is the 9th time they have finished 12th in their 18 appearances at the Contest. 2007 and 2008 were their equal best result when they finished 5th.
13th - Portugal
Portugal's 13th place is actually their third best result. Only one of their entries has made the Top 10 when they finished 8th in 2022.
14th - Georgia
Sadly Georgia's 14th place is their equal lowest finish ever in the Contest. It is the third time ever they finished outside the top 10. However they are still one of the most successful nations at Junior Eurovision with their three wins (now tied with France).
15th - Estonia
Estonia was the only nation debuting at this year's contest so well done to Arhanna on her 15th place. It is the lowest finish from a debuting country since 2018 when Wales finished in 20th place.
16th - Ireland
Ireland were on a high after last year's best ever result, even bringing back 2022 artist Sophie Lennon to join Jessica McKean on stage. Unfortunately this year saw their second lowest placing but we know they'll be back with another enchanting entry next year.
So there you have it Junior Eurovision is wrapped up for another year.
Bring on 2024!
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