Who won Junior Eurovision 2026? Armenia's Naré triumphs in Malta, and how Ireland did

Armenia have won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the third time, after 13-year-old Naré from Yerevan topped the scoreboard in Malta on Saturday night with the playful "BOO!".

Her song finished on 202 points, comfortably clear of Spain's Lucas Paulano, who scored 184 with "Cuore Bello (Te Quiero, Te Quiero)", while France's Alec took third place on 165 with "Comment tu vas ?".

This was the 24th edition of the contest, staged at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta' Qali by the island's public broadcaster PBS, with Gaia Cauchi, Destiny and Keane Cutajar presenting.

Sixteen countries took part, and the result was decided by an even split between professional juries and an online vote that viewers in 194 countries and territories could join. Armenia's earlier wins came in 2010 and 2021, making Naré the country's third junior champion.

Closer to home, the story worth following further down the table was Ireland's entry. Broadcaster TG4 sent the duo of Caleb Kirwan from Dublin and Naomi Gribben from County Down, and their Irish-language song "Níos Láidre" scored 64 points. That put them level with Portugal's Salvador Rio, who took 13th place on the tie-break, leaving Ireland 14th of the 16 countries.

The United Kingdom was not among the 16 broadcasters this year, so Gribben's appearance gave viewers in Northern Ireland a local name to cheer on.

Around 4,000 people filled the venue in Ta' Qali, and the interval featured performances from last year's junior winner Lou Deleuze and from DARA, who won the main Eurovision Song Contest for Bulgaria earlier this year.

Attention now turns to the 25th anniversary edition. The European Broadcasting Union says it will work with its members and Armenian broadcaster AMPTV over the coming weeks to choose and announce a host, and unlike the main contest, the winning country is not obliged to stage the following year's show.

Before then, the adult contest heads to Bulgaria, and our guide to Eurovision 2027 in Burgas has everything confirmed so far about the host city and arena.

Images: EBU.