Eleven-year-old Gaia Cauchi of Malta has won the 2013 Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC) broadcast tonight from the National Palace of Arts Ukraine in Kyiv.

Gaia, who impressed judges with her self-penned composition "The Start", has been singing since the age of two. As part of her prize, she will attend the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen next  year. 

Sofia Tarasova of Ukraine came second with the song "We are one". Third place was awarded to Ilya Volkov, the eleven year old representing Belarus with the song "Poy so mnoy".

Twelve contestants, aged between ten and fifteen years, took part in the two hour contest hosted by Ukrainian public broadcaster and EBU Member NTU.

The contestants, in order of appearance, were:  

• Eliias Ellfors Elfstrom – Sweden
• Rustam Karimov – Azerbaijan
• Monika Avanesyan – Armenia
• Michele Perniolo – San Marino
• Barbara Popovic – FYR Macedonia
• Sofia Tarasova – Ukraine
• Ilya Volkov  – Belarus
• Rafael Bobeica – Moldova
• The Smile Shop – Georgia
• Mylene and Rosanne Waalewijn – Netherlands
• Gaia Cauchi – Malta
• Dayana Kirillova – Russia

The evening's highlights included performances by Emmelie de Forest, winner of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, last year’s JESC winner Anastasiya Petryk, and co-host and Eurovision Malmö 2013 place-getter Zlata Ognevich.