Italy Wins Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014

News provided by

15 Nov, 2014, 22:58 GMT

This image opens in the lightbox — Vincenzo Cantiello - Italian Winner of Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014 (PRNewsFoto/EBU)

VALLETTA, Malta, November 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

14-year-old Vincenzo Cantiello, from Italy, has been named the winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014. The event for talented young singers aged between 10 and 15 years old took place on Saturday 15 November in Valletta, Malta.

Vincenzo performed the powerful ballad "Tu Primo Grande Amore" (Your First Great Love) which he co-wrote with Alterisio Paoletti, Fabrizio Berlincioni, Leonardo de Amicis and Francesca Giuliano.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141115/717205-a )
     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141115/717205-b )
     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141115/717205-c )

It is the first time Italy has taken part in the event which has been staged annually since 2003.

The 12th edition of the competition was broadcast live in the 16 participating countries by EBU Members PBS (Malta), PTV (Armenia), BTRC (Belarus), BNT (Bulgaria), HRT (Croatia), CyBC (Cyprus), GPB (Georgia), RAI (Italy), RTCG (Montenegro), AVROTROS (The Netherlands), RTR (Russia), SMRTV (San Marino), RTS (Serbia), RTVSLO (Slovenia), SVT (Sweden) and NTU (Ukraine).

The 16 finalists performed live in front of an audience of 5,000 inside a former shipbuilding facility outside the Maltese capital Valletta. The winner was chosen by combining the votes of professional juries and viewers in all 16 participating countries. The jury votes were decided during a dress rehearsal on Friday night and the televotes were cast during Saturday's show. A special Kids' Jury, which included several former contestants, also contributed to the result.

The winner Vincenzo Cantiello was born in Sant'Arpino near Naples in 2000 and won several important singing competitions before taking part in "Ti Lascio Una Canzone", the most popular children's talent show broadcast on EBU Member RAI Uno. His song, which combines the Italian musical tradition with a modern flair, describes what a teenager feels while experiencing love for the first time.

Vincenzo dedicated his win to his parents: "I love them, and they always support me," he said when picking up his trophy.

Prizes were also awarded to Krisia, Hasan and Ibrahim from Bulgaria who came second with the song "Planet of Children" and Betty, representing Armenia with the song "People of the Sun" who came third.

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was a co-production between the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Public Broadcasting Services Malta.

The competitors

The participants for the 2014 Contest in order of appearance were: