Reception at the highest level: Participants of the Junior Eurovision 2018 visit the Palace of Independence and meet with the Belarusian president

The participants of the Junior Eurovision 2018 got an opportunity to tour one of Minsk’s most symbolic places, walk through the halls and offices of the official residence of the head of state and meet with the Belarusian president. They arrived at the Palace of Independence the day after they walked the red carpet during a solemn opening ceremony of the contest.

The entire Eurovision Week will be packed with events, interviews and rehearsals for the Grand Final that will take place in the Minsk Arena on 25 November. The invitation to visit the Palace of Independence, the place where Belarus’ politics is made, was a gift to the young artists, their teams and the organizers of the show.

The guests from 20 countries carefully listened to information about the Palace of Independence and its history, mingled with each other, made photos and shared impressions. The excursion culminated in the meeting with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko who gave a warm welcome to the young artists. Among them were Belarus’ representatives at the previous editions of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, like Ksenia Sitnik, Olga Satyuk and Lidia Zablotskaya.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that each of the participants is a winner, as they passed toughest national selection in their homelands. He emphasized that Belarus is known for its integrity; therefore no one but the best will win the contest. The participants of the Junior Eurovision performed LightUp!, the signature song of this year’s contest. They also gave the head of state a symbolic copy of the main prize – a glass microphone with colored lines inside the upper part.

Visit to the Palace of Independence and meeting with the president in our special report