CBBC is tuning up its schedule with a commitment to broadcast family-friendly competition series The Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the first time ever.

Featuring nine- to 14-year-olds going head to head singing original songs, the event will simulcast on December 11 across CBBC, BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

This aged-down version of a popular singing contest for adults launched in 2003, and kids from 39 different countries have competed in it since. The final winner is determined by votes cast by global viewers and also by a jury from the participating countries.

This year’s event will be held in Armenia, produced by BBC Studios. Patricia Hidalgo (director of BBC Children’s and Education) and Sarah Muller (head of commissioning and acquisitions for kids seven and up) greenlit the production and have appointed Lee Smithurst (Eurovision: You Decide, I Can See Your Voice: UK) as executive producer.

Junior Eurovision tends to attract a big audience. Last year’s event pulled in 33 million viewers and cornered a 12.6% share of total viewers ages four to 14, according to a release.

The adult Eurovision contest is more than 50 years old and remains very popular, drawing 161 million viewers worldwide this year and 183 million in 2021, according to Eurovisionworld.com.

As it embarks on producing this high-profile programming event, BBC Studios Kids & Family is in the midst of restructuring to become a streamlined team with one combined budget and content slate. And the UK pubcaster is looking to fill new executive roles and drive growth in animation and preschool in its quest to become a more competitive buyer and producer in the global market.