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Belarus bids to host Junior Eurovision 2009 song contest

Belarus has submitted a bid to host the Junior Eurovision 2009 song contest, Yury Azaronak, deputy chairman of the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company, said at a news conference held in Lahoysk, Minsk region, on September 27.

According to him, Belarus pays “enormous attention to staging festive shows, such as Dazhynki or Slavyanski Bazar.” “If the European Broadcasting Union gives us the thumbs-up, we’ll organize the contest to a good European standard,” Mr. Azaronak said.

According to Alyaksandr Zimowski, head of the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company, the host country is only in charge of the technical side of the show. “A team of organizers, representatives of the European Broadcasting Union arrive as a team, select a venue where they want to work and set out their technical requirements,” he said.

The Junior Eurovision 2009 song contest will take place in the Netherlands. In the junior contest the country hosting the next contest is selected well in advance of the preceding Eurovision. The winner will usually only receive a trophy. In the adult format the winning country automatically has the right to host the next Eurovision. //BelaPAN