{"id":263056,"date":"2026-10-19T09:56:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T08:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tg4.ie\/?page_id=263056"},"modified":"2026-10-19T09:58:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T08:58:55","slug":"junior-eurovision-song-contest-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.tg4.ie\/en\/information\/press\/press-releases\/2026-2\/junior-eurovision-song-contest-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/d1og0s8nlbd0hm.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/19094943\/JESC_2026_Malta_2026_1-1920x1080-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-263054\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d1og0s8nlbd0hm.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/19094943\/JESC_2026_Malta_2026_1-1920x1080-1.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/d1og0s8nlbd0hm.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/19094943\/JESC_2026_Malta_2026_1-1920x1080-1-700x394.jpg 700w, https:\/\/d1og0s8nlbd0hm.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/19094943\/JESC_2026_Malta_2026_1-1920x1080-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/d1og0s8nlbd0hm.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/19094943\/JESC_2026_Malta_2026_1-1920x1080-1-250x141.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><br \/>\n<sup>Naomi Gribben &#038; Caleb Kirwan at Dublin Airport: Credit Bryan Brophy<\/sup><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Malta is just one week away and Ireland is doing things differently this year! This year\u2019s representatives, <strong>Caleb Kirwan (14) from Leopardstown and Naomi Gribben (13) from Mayobridge, Co. Down<\/strong>, are the only duet act competing this year. They have taken the first step towards the international stage, flying from Dublin Airport on Saturday evening to compete with their powerful song <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-OSugJuKp1Y\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">N\u00edos L\u00e1idre<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nIreland\u2019s entry will take the 13th spot in the running order at the live final on the 24th of October. While 13 may be considered unlucky by some, we\u2019ll be hoping that a little Irish luck helps turn superstition into success.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nCaleb and Naomi began this journey in a dramatic final on Sunday the 4th of October as the search for Ireland\u2019s entry to the Junior Eurovision came to a shocking conclusion. Two singers were left standing at the end of the night, but the judges couldn&#8217;t choose one over the other to represent Ireland in Malta on 24 October. Instead, they decided that both would represent Ireland.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nAt 14, Caleb is already an accomplished performer with a passion for singing, dancing and acting. He has been training in the performing arts since the age of six and has loved performing and finds immense joy in singing, dancing, and acting. He studies at Steptacular Performing Arts School in Dublin.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nNaomi (13) is equally at home in the spotlight. Singing talent runs in her family, inherited from her nanny and grandad, a gift she shares with all her cousins. Naomi is no stranger to the stage, and it\u2019s where she feels most at home. In fact, in 2025, she was the only singer from Ireland and the UK to make it to the finals of the Tour Music Fest in San Marino.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe <strong>Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026, live from Malta, airs on TG4, Saturday 24th October 2026 at 8pm<\/strong> and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tg4.ie\/en\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">www.TG4.ie<\/a>  Don\u2019t forget to vote for IRELAND by visiting <a href=\"https:\/\/vote.eurovision.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026<\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<strong>How to support Ireland:<\/strong><br \/>\nVoting Information:<br \/>\nYou can help decide the winner of this year\u2019s Junior Eurovision Song Contest by voting online at Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 no matter where in the world you are. And unlike the senior Eurovision Song Contest, fans can vote for their own country.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<strong>There are 2 voting windows:<\/strong><br \/>\nVoting Window 1<br \/>\nYou can vote from 10.59pm Irish time on Friday 23 October until 7:59pm Irish time on Saturday 24 October &#8211; just before the Live Show starts in Malta.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nVoting Window 2<br \/>\nVoting will then reopen after the final song has been performed during the Live Show.<br \/>\nYou\u2019ll have approximately 15 minutes to cast your vote before voting closes.<br \/>\nAll votes will be converted into points, which will be revealed during the show.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Naomi Gribben &#038; Caleb Kirwan at Dublin Airport: Credit Bryan Brophy &nbsp; The Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Malta is just one week away and Ireland is doing things differently this year! This year\u2019s representatives, Caleb Kirwan (14) from Leopardstown and Naomi Gribben (13) from Mayobridge, Co. Down, are the only duet act competing this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":876,"featured_media":0,"parent":248746,"menu_order":70,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/template-pr.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | Press Release | TG4<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | Press Release | TG4\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Naomi Gribben &#038; Caleb Kirwan at Dublin Airport: Credit Bryan Brophy &nbsp; The Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Malta is just one week away and Ireland is doing things differently this year! 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