In 2008 Cyprus national broadcaster hosted for the first time a Eurovision event at the Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center, a newly made venue which was fully equipped for such an event. Junior Eurovision took place on November 22nd hosted by Alex Michael & Sophia Paraskeva. 15 countries took part and viewers of each participating country vote by telephone and SMS, which counts for 50%. Each country’s 10 favourites are awarded 1 to 8, 10 and 12 points based on the number of vote. A jury in each country also has a 50% say in the outcome. Fun In The Sun was the motto of the event and Georgia won the contest with an absolute favourite song. Azerbaijan was suppose to debut but withdrawn the very last moment.