POLAND – This year’s press conference was conducted a little bit differently than in previous years, much like many events in 2020. This time, instead of the media joining in the room, the press was also viewing online with the rest of us!

HIGHLIGHTS

• The event kicked off with a host of the conference, Agata Konarska, who promised viewers a “special edition” of this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest!
• Agata then introduced the organisers of the event: Executive Supervisor of Junior Eurovision 2020 Martin Österdahl from the EBU and President of Host Broadcaster TVP, Jacek Kurski who joined her live on stage in Warsaw.
• We then got to see a beautiful video of Viki Gabor singing her 2019 winning song Superhero that included inspiring images matched with a voice-over of empowering words that invited us to Move The World. T
• Mr Kurski was honoured to welcome viewers back to Poland and expressed his pride for being the first public broadcaster in Junior Eurovision history to host the competition 2 consecutive years in a row.
• Many viewers were particularly impressed by the augmented reality and visuals displayed during the Opening Ceremony.
• Mr Kurski reported that they did not only apply augmentative reality techniques during the concert but also XR extended reality with the use of an LED screen system and camera positioning in a 3D space. In fact, he said it was the “first time in the world that XR technology was used in a multi-camera live shooting!”
• He also mentioned that the Junior Eurovision clip by this year’s Polish representative, Ala Tracz, was filmed in the form of a so-called ‘master shot’ which was also the first time it was used in the history of the competition! The result of the Opening Ceremony came down to a lot of hard and complicated work, but that it proved his team at TVP were “not afraid of ambitious and difficult challenges!”
• Not everyone believed that the EBU and TVP could do it but the team were solution focused and driven, despite having to overcome obstacles that once seemed impossible. The competition this year “is going to raise the bar for competitions to come” said the Executive Supervisor of the competition.
• Viewers were then treated with a video showing the dedication and commitment from everyone involved in the creation of the event, including backstage visuals of the artists, staging crew, and more!
• Last year’s winner, Viki Gabor joined the stage and was asked what the most memorable moments of her time in the competition last year.
• Martin was then asked for a response on the many countries that had to withdraw from this years’ competition due to the covid 19 pandemic. While he was saddened by the fact that some of “our friends” could not be with us, he was sure they were all participating in some form, either through watching the show or getting involved in the voting too. He assured viewers that they were in discussions with everyone to come back next year too and believed that the success of this show will increase their interest again next year.