This Saturday, 15 November, Klaipėda's Švyturys Arena will be transformed into a real planet of children's imagination - the Children's Favourite 2025 awards ceremony will take place here, where the most loved children in Lithuania will be revealed.
This year's election was an exceptional success, with almost 50,000 votes cast for their favourites and hundreds of educational institutions in the country - schools, kindergartens, after-school centres and studios - getting involved. From music and cinema to sports, books and the world of games, children from all over Lithuania chose the things that inspire them, make them happy and make them smile.
Gediminas Jaunius, Chief Producer of creative house Elitaz, says: "This year's elections have proved once again that projects of this kind are extremely important and relevant - they not only allow children to actively express their opinions, but also develop creativity, courage and community spirit. Watching schools, kindergartens and after-school centres get involved in nominating and voting for the nominees is truly inspiring. It's going to be a spectacular show of children's imagination, the magic of music and theatre - the kind of project that nurtures the younger generation and gives them invaluable experiences."
Among this year's top favourites is the singer Jessica Shy, nominated in four categories: 'Favourite Artist or Group', 'Favourite Song' with her songs 'Apkabink' and 'Žvėris', 'Favourite Event' - her concert, and 'Favourite Lithuanian Person'. This dominance shows not only the enormous popularity of the singer, but also that her work is particularly close to the youngest audience, who have actively expressed their voice this year.
In the same category, OG Version and Rock Yan are competing with Jessica Shy for the title of "Favourite Artist or Group". Jessica Shy with "Hug" and "Beast" and Free Finga with "One" are competing for "Favourite Song". "In the "Most Beloved Event" category, her concert is competing with the M.A.M.A. Music Awards and the performance of "Kakė Makė and the Talent Show", while in the "Most Beloved Person in Lithuania" category, Jessica Shy is joined by the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, and the much-loved Mama.
"I am incredibly grateful to all the children for their votes and for this nomination. I myself remember very well having favourite artists as a child who inspired me to achieve my goals. This nomination is a privilege and a responsibility that will be with me every day. I wish every child to dream, to make their dreams come true and to never forget - we can all do it!", says Rokas Yan.
Andrius Talžūnas, creator of YouTube, Edvinas Malakauskas, creator of humorous videos for TikTok, and Rusnė Šerkšnaitė are among the most loved children's content creators curlygirly777which creates content about curls.
"I was really surprised because it was very unexpected! I was overwhelmed with a happiness that I can't compare to anything else. At first I thought maybe I was being lied to, so I immediately went to check the information on the voting page to see if it was really true. When I saw it with my own eyes, I started screaming with happiness. It's hard to even describe the feeling. This is one of my biggest achievements to date", says 11-year-old Rusnė Šerkšnaitė, daughter of Kristina Šerkšnienė, former member of Mokinukės and Dar.
"Nominations and nominees for Children's Favourites 2025:
Favourite artist or band: Jessica Shy, OG Version, Rokas Yan
Favourite song: "Hug" - Jessica Shy, "One" - Free Finga, "Beast" - Jessica Shy
Favourite actor/actress: Paulė Konstancija Giniotaitė ("Kakė Makė"), Giedrius Savickas, Ineta Stasiulytė
Favourite event: "Kakė Makė and the Talent Show", M.A.M.A. Music Awards, Jessica Shy concert
Favourite content creator: Andrius Talžūnas, Edvinas Malakauskas, Rusnė Šerkšnaitė (curlygirly777)
Favourite athlete: Jonas Valančiūnas, Mykolas Alekna, Rūta Meilutytė
My favourite Lithuanian book: "Dom and Tom. The Case of the Missing Cats - Tomas Dirgėla, "Poppy and the Gift Box" - Lina Žutautė, "Happiness is a Fox" - Evelina Daciūtė, Aušra Kiudulaitė
Lithuania's most beloved man: Jessica Shy, Gitanas Nausėda, Mom
Favourite film: "Lilo and Stitch, Minecraft, Home Alone
Favourite video game: GTA, Minecraft, Roblox
Favourite toy: Labubu, LEGO, teddy bear
Favourite food: pancakes, pasta, pizza
The most popular performers of the country - OG Version, Paulina Paukštaitytė, Gabrielius Vagelis and Gintė, The Roop, Jauti, Anyanya, Cleo and Kingas - will perform on the big stage of Švyturias Arena. The event will be hosted by Audrius Bružas and Gelminė Glemžaitė, and will be accompanied by the beloved characters of all children - Kakė Makė and the Dwarf of Disorder. A colourful show full of music, smiles, surprises and good emotions for the whole family awaits the audience. The ceremony will be broadcast live on TV3.
"Children's Favourites is the event where children's voices are loudest. The project is organised by ELITAZ, a creative house celebrating its 20th anniversary, together with the team of Kakės Makė, with the aim of bringing together the whole of Lithuania to celebrate creativity, good emotions and people who inspire the younger generation. We will find out who will become the Children's Favourite 2025 this Saturday, when this year's winners will be announced at Klaipėda's Švyturys arena.
