Participating Countries Unveiled for Junior Eurovision Song Contest

GENEVA: The European Broadcasting Union and its Ukrainian member the National Television Company of Ukraine has announced the 12 countries that are taking part in the 2013 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, available to contestants ages 10 to 15.

The contest, to be held at the National Palace of Arts Ukraine on November 30, will feature participants from Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Russia, San Marino, Sweden and Ukraine. The selected contestants will perform live, singing original songs. The winners will be decided by a jury and public voting.

Bettina Brinkmann, EBU's head of TV, said: “The level of interest has been unprecedentedly high this year, and we are extremely proud to provide a stage for top young singers from the 12 countries to show their talent.”

Vladislav Yakovlev, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest executive supervisor, added: “We also thank NTU and Ukraine for their incredible efforts and for fully living up to their ‘Be Creative’ theme.”