Sixteen countries participated in the contest, which saw the return of Portugal for the first time since 2007 and the withdrawals of Bulgaria and Israel.

[1][2] Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) announced on 22 November 2016 that they had begun talks with the EBU in connection to hosting the 2017 contest.

[6] However, on 9 August 2017, the venue was changed to the 4,000-capacity Olympic Palace in Tbilisi which was considered more suitable for hosting the contest.

[7] Officially opened on 13 July 2015 by Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvili, the venue was built to host the 2015 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival.

[7] Prior to the event, a digital compilation album featuring all the songs from the 2017 contest was put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by Universal Music Group on 10 November 2017.

The emblem is a multi-coloured, stylized sun, representing a "burst" of expression; Jon Ola Sand explained that the theme reflected the goal of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest to give youth "a moment to shine and an opportunity to showcase their full potential as young artists".

The main trophy was a glass microphone with colored lines inside the upper part, which symbolize the flow of sound.

[22] The opening of the show featured last year's winner Mariam Mamadashvili performing her winning entry "Mzeo" with a choir and was followed by the traditional flag parade accompanied by the theme song "Shine Bright", composed by Giga Kukhianidze and Gordon Bonello.

For a country to be eligible for potential participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, it needs to be an active member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

[34] It is currently unknown whether the EBU issue invitations of participation to all 56 active members like they do for the Eurovision Song Contest.