Freya Skye’s performance at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest this week will be worthy of the adult contest, according to Dan Shipton. 

Shipton is the UK’s Creative Director at Junior Eurovision and was speaking exclusively to The Euro Trip from Yerevan, Armenia ahead of the contest on Sunday (December 11). 

“What you can expect to see is a performance that wouldn’t look out of place on the main Eurovision stage,” he said. 

“Everything about it will be honed to perfection. Freya’s performance is worthy of main Eurovision, let alone Junior Eurovision.

“I hope that we have matched all of the visuals with that: amazing screen content, amazing lighting design, a really cool camera cut, and, of course, my speciality, a prop.” 

Skye’s prop is a throne, something that has been seen in the official music video for her Junior Eurovision entry Lose My Head, as well as in her performance on the BBC’s Children In Need fundraising telethon last month. 

“There is a throne but it is so super duper in comparison to any throne you have ever seen before,” Shipton added. 

“It’s one-of-a-kind. And there’s some really cool interactive screen elements and some other bits that will be exciting.” 

Annabel Williams, Freya Skye’s Vocal Coach, was speaking to The Euro Trip alongside Shipton and said: “I just saw it [the staging] for the first time and I literally had goosebumps all over my body. It looks insane.”

Shipton’s company, BlackSkull Creative, worked on Sam Ryder’s staging at Eurovision earlier this year, as well has being behind the concept of more than a dozen other entries since 2015. 

Williams was also part of Ryder’s team in Turin this year, acting as his Vocal Coach. She also coached James Newman in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2021.

Image – BBC / Justin Downing