Ukraine's six Junior Vidbir finalists
Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne announced the six young performers selected to compete in the final of its national selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The names were revealed during the fourth episode of "Junior Eurovision Diaries," following tests conducted at the Junior Vidbir "Star school," where finalists were evaluated on their refined performances from earlier open auditions. Before the final test, members of Kalush Orchestra, winners of Eurovision 2022, led a workshop for the young artists. The finalists are Roman Doroshenko, Dmytro Karabet, Erika Kolesnichenko, Anastasiya Poshedina, Marko Serdynskyi and Zlata Solonenko.
Songwriter pairings and broadcast details
A draw assigned composers to the finalists. Svitlana Tarabarova will write songs for Roman Doroshenko, Dmytro Karabet and Erika Kolesnichenko, while alyona alyona will write songs for Anastasiya Poshedina, Marko Serdynskyi and Zlata Solonenko. The Junior Vidbir final will be staged as a televised concert on September 13 at 18:00 EET (17:00 CET), distributed through Suspilne's Kultura channel and website, junior.eurovision.ua and the Eurovision Ukraine YouTube channel. As in previous years, Ukraine's representative for Junior Eurovision 2026 will be chosen by a combination of a three-member professional jury and audience votes.
Fundraising partnership for children affected by war
Suspilne has joined the "Children of Heroes" Charitable Foundation as part of the national selection to raise funds for educational support for children who have lost one or both parents due to the war. The campaign is aimed at providing lessons in the Ukrainian language, mathematics and programming, linking the broadcaster's selection process to an ongoing humanitarian initiative.
Junior Eurovision 2026 hosting lineup
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is scheduled for 21:00 CEST on Saturday, October 24, live from the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre (MFCC) in Ta' Qali, with host broadcaster PBS staging the event for the third time after 2014 and 2016. Sixteen competing broadcasters have been confirmed, including entrants from Albania, Armenia, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Spain and Ukraine. Several performers and songs have already been revealed, including Albania's Eslin Kurti with "Kërce me mua," Montenegro's Mija Mujović with "Muzika Nas Spaja," North Macedonia's Ana Stojanoska with "Idnata jas," and Poland's Wiktor Sas.
Ukraine's recent Junior Eurovision record
Ukraine first competed at Junior Eurovision in 2006, finishing ninth with Nazar Slyusarchuk's "Khlopchyk Rock 'n' Roll," and has now participated 17 times. The country won the contest once, in 2012, with Anastasiya Petryk's "Nebo." After a third-place finish in 2024, Ukraine placed second in 2025 when Sofiia Nersesian and her song "Montaka" received 79 points from the jury and 98 from the online vote, winning the online vote. France's Lou Deleuze was the overall 2025 winner with "Ce Monde" at the contest held in Tbilisi, Georgia.
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