Georgia's Ranina to pick semi-finalists May 23

Georgia’s Ranina 2026 reaches a cutoff point on Saturday, with the Georgian television contest set to confirm the five singers who will move into its semi-final stage. Eurovoix reported that the show airs at 20:00 CET on 1TV and Facebook on May 23, placing it among the earliest televised selection events in the next Junior Eurovision cycle. The program is run by Georgia’s First Channel, which describes Ranina as a children’s music competition for singers aged 8 to 14. The semi-final field will be determined from the rankings built across the opening rounds. ### Which competition is on air in Georgia tonight? Ranina 2026 is Georgia’s national selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026, according to Eurovoix. The show is carried by 1TV, also known as Georgia’s First Channel, which says the format is an original children’s music project built as a singing contest. 1TV says the season features 10 contestants and unfolds as a three-month television marathon. The broadcaster lists Davit Aladashvili as host and Vache Gviniashvili as co-host. The contestants are between 8 and 14 years old, according to the 1TV program page. ### How are the semi-finalists being chosen? 1TV says the contest includes four thematic rounds, with each round split into two television episodes. All contestants take part in the main rounds, and the five highest-ranked singers in the overall standings advance to the semi-final. The broadcaster says jurors score each performance in four categories — vocals, performance, artistry and collaboration — using a 10-point system. Those scores are accumulated across the four main rounds, and the final ranking from that phase determines the semi-final five. ### What did the last results show before Saturday’s cutoff? Eurovoix reported on May 17 that the seventh show marked the last thematic round for one group of five singers before the semi-finalists were set. In that episode, Zurab Naskidashvili and Luka Mikadze each scored 120 points, while Anamaria Kukishvili scored 117, Ana Tavdgiridze 116 and Luka Guturishvili 115. Eurovoix said the cumulative totals after four rounds for that group were 478 for Zurab Naskidashvili, 476 for Ana Tavdgiridze, 474 for Luka Mikadze, 474 for Anamaria Kukishvili and 471 for Luka Guturishvili. Eurovoix added that the remaining five young singers would return the following week and that the semi-finalists would then be determined. (eurovoix.com) ### What happens once the five qualifiers are confirmed? 1TV says the semi-final uses a different mechanism from the opening phase. In the semi-final, each jury member produces an individual ranking, and the combined ranking identifies the three finalists. The broadcaster says the winner is then chosen by the jury from among those three finalists. Eurovoix has also described the format in the same terms in earlier coverage of the 2026 season and the broader Ranina structure. (eurovoix.com) ### Where can viewers watch, and what comes next? Eurovoix listed Saturday’s May 23 broadcast at 20:00 CET on 1TV and Facebook. 1TV’s program page lists Ranina in its Saturday schedule and identifies the show as part of the channel’s regular lineup. The next named milestone is the semi-final itself. 1TV says five contestants will reach that stage, and three of them will then progress to the final, where the jury will choose Georgia’s Junior Eurovision 2026 representative. (1tv.ge) (eurovoix.com)