09 October 2018

And the winner is ....

Wales has chosen! Manw is the winner of S4C's Chwilio am Seren and she will become the first young singer from Wales to take part in the final round of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Belarus in November.

Manw from Rhostryfan was chosen in a live public vote during a special event at Venue Cymru Llandudno tonight (October 9).

"I can't believe it! I'm so happy. Getting the chance to represent my country at Junior Eurovision is such a privilege. I'm so proud to be doing this for Wales.

"Thank you to everyone for all the help. Everyone has been so supportive on this journey. The other girls have been so nice and supportive – thank you to everyone!"

Over the summer, S4C and production company Rondo Media went on tour to find young stars-in-the-making to represent Wales in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. A series of public auditions saw local halls full of young performers, eager to win their place as a Junior Eurovision star.

In September, in a series of four programmes Chwilio am Seren on S4C, individuals and groups faced a panel of highly experienced mentors – Connie Fisher, Stifyn Parri and Tara Bethan.

They had to choose 20 performers to move on to the mentoring process – then the three had to choose the six best to compete in the finals in Llandudno tonight.

Tara Bethan was Manw's mentor. "I'm so proud of Manw! The talent that we've seen tonight proves why Wales is known as the Land of Song."

But, at the end of the day – it was not the mentors that got to choose the winner but the viewers. During tonight's programme, the public had their say by voting for their favourite to represent Wales.

It was Manw who won the public vote and she will perform the original song "Hi yw y Berta" by Yws Gwynedd at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Minsk this November.

This year is the first time ever for Wales to compete as an individual country in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

The Eurovision Song Contest is a hugely popular event in Europe and across the world. The Junior Eurovision competition for young performers aged between 9-14 years is an equally high profile show and attracts attention from every corner of Europe and beyond. Thousands come to see the live show and millions more watch the programme on television.

Joining Wales in the grand final of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be 20 competitors from countries including Russia, The Ukraine, France and Kazakhstan.

The final will be broadcast live from Minsk, Belarus on S4C on Sunday afternoon, November 25 at 3pm.