Albania was represented at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Nice, France. Albanian broadcaster RTSH is responsible for the country's participation, and selected Viola Gjyzeli to represent the country with her song "Bota ime" through the national selection competition Junior Fest 2023.
Background
Prior to the 2023 contest, Albania had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest eight times since its first entry in 2012, only opting not to participate at the 2013, 2014 and 2020 contests. Albania has never won the contest, with their best result being in 2015, with the song "" by Mishela Rapo achieving fifth place with a score of 93 points. In , Kejtlin Gjata represented Albania in Yerevan, Armenia with the song "Pakëz diell". The country ended in 12th place out of 16 countries, achieving 94 points.
Before Junior Eurovision
Junior Fest 2023 The Albanian broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) revealed in July 2023 that the Albanian representative would be chosen via the national selection competition Junior Fest 2023. Bojken Lako was named as the creative director for the competition, which was to undergo changes as compared to previous years. Interested artists from Albania and Kosovo were able to send in their applications, starting from 20 July 2023 until 25 August 2023. The competing acts were revealed on 30 August. The final, originally scheduled to take place on 20 September, was broadcast live on 22 September at 20:30 CET from a temporary stage situated in front of the Pyramid of Tirana, marking the first live broadcast of Junior Fest since 2017. The winner was selected solely by a jury panel. In addition to the competition performances, Arsi Bako, Erma Mici, Niki Zaimi, Luna Çausholli, Melodajn Mancaku and Sardi Strugaj performed all throughout the show as interval acts. +Final – 22 September 2023DrawArtistSongSongwriter(s)1Amra Madani"Rock Star"Reinald Foçi2Françeska Kasa"Perfekte Jam"Ana Kodra3Elisa Skarra"Një përqafim"Enis Mullaj, Eriona Rushiti4Tea Metohu"Smile"Dorian Metohu5Rei Bardhollari"Hasta mañana"Adrian Hila6Fiona Resuli"Lodroj me yjet"Klodian Rexhepaj, Fran Ukcama7Viola Gjyzeli"Bota ime"Enis Mullaj, Eriona Rushiti8Irsa Haxhillari"Melodinë e saj"Melodajn Mancaku9Era Hasanaj"Bisedë me një yll"Alfred Kaçinari, Ana Kaçinari10Ea Zoga"Lule n’zemrën tuaj"Florent Boshnjaku, Ramazan Ceka11Nikol Çabeli"Vetëm unë"Melodajn Mancaku, Wendi Mancaku12Anja Canaj"E dua erën"Kristi Bello, Mimoza Bici Dhima13Marianxhela Rodakaj"Afrika"Enis Mullaj, Eriona Rushiti14Kejt Hitaj"Eja"Enis Mullaj, Eriona Rushiti15Ajshel Zykollari"Pas ëndrrës time eja"Miron Kotani, Mimoza Bici Dhima
At Junior Eurovision The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 took place at Palais Nikaïa in Nice, France on 26 November 2023.
Voting
At the end of the show, Albania received 70 points from juries and 45 points from online voting, placing 8th. This marked Albania's second-best result in the contest, following fifth place in 2015.
+ Points awarded to Albania Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point Albania received 45 points from the online vote
+ Points awarded by Albania Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Detailed voting results The following members comprised the Albanian jury: Andi Lazaj David Kerri Serxhio Hajdini Anxhela Llaha Izabela Veliaj
+ Draw Country Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Rank Points 01 2 4 1 9 3 2 10 02 11 9 11 11 1 7 4 03 4 1 2 5 6 3 8 04 14 10 14 15 9 14 05 3 2 6 1 2 1 12 06 7 5 12 14 7 10 1 07 8 12 7 8 8 11 08 9 6 3 2 10 5 6 09 5 8 9 10 5 8 3 10 15 14 10 12 15 15 11 12 15 13 7 12 13 12 6 3 4 3 4 4 7 13 14 10 13 15 6 13 12 15 13 11 5 4 11 9 2 16 1 7 8 13 14 6 5
References