The first Junior Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in Copenhagen in November, is expected to be hosted by Ronan Keating.

Robbie Williams, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears are also expected to perform.

Contestants must be aged 8 to 15 years on the day of their national final. They must have written and composed their song themselves, with no professional help.

The contest is being organised by the European Broadcasting Union after the idea was proposed by Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Croatia - the contest's founding members.

Fifteen EBU members will take part in the two-hour show, representing Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, FYR Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and UK.

The result will be decided by international televoting, and the winning song will be released internationally by EMI.

Malta applied to take part in the contest earlier this year, and once chosen, was guaranteed a place in the contest for three consecutive years.

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