Gaia Cauchi, Destiny Chukunyere and television presenter Keane Cutajar will host the 24th Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place on Saturday, 24 October, at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre in Ta' Qali.
The trio is already familiar to Maltese television audiences. Earlier this year, Cauchi, Chukunyere and Cutajar joined forces to host the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Their chemistry on that occasion will now be brought to an international audience as they take charge of Junior Eurovision.
But the choice of hosts carries particular significance for the competition: both Cauchi and Chukunyere are former Junior Eurovision winners for Malta.
Two Junior Eurovision champions return
Gaia Cauchi made history in 2013 when she won Junior Eurovision in Kyiv with 'The Start', becoming Malta's first-ever winner in the competition. She was only 11 years old at the time.
Her victory marked Malta's first success in any Eurovision-branded contest and established Cauchi as one of the country's most recognisable Junior Eurovision alumni. She returned to the contest one year later as an interval act when Malta hosted Junior Eurovision for the first time in 2014.
Cauchi later pursued opportunities outside Malta, including an appearance on 'The X Factor UK' in 2018. As her career developed, she moved into mentoring young performers and is now a coach on 'The Voice Kids Malta', the talent show being used to select Malta's Junior Eurovision representative in 2026. She has also been awarded the Ä ieħ ir-Repubblika, one of Malta's highest national honours, in recognition of her achievements.
Twelve-year-old Destiny Chukunyere followed in Cauchi's footsteps two years later. Representing Malta at Junior Eurovision 2015 with 'Not My Soul', Destiny won the competition with 185 points, giving the country its second victory.
Destiny subsequently appeared as an interval act at Junior Eurovision 2016 before competing on 'Britain's Got Talent' in 2017, where she reached the semi-finals. In 2020, she won the second season of 'X Factor Malta', earning the right to represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Although the 2020 Eurovision edition was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Destiny was selected to return for the following year's contest. She represented Malta in Rotterdam with 'Je Me Casse', finishing seventh in the Grand Final and giving the country its first Top 10 result at Eurovision since 2005.
Destiny has also become a familiar face on Maltese television. She has served as a coach on 'The Voice Kids Malta' since its first season and has continued in the role across three seasons. In 2025, she was the winning coach, with her contestant Eliza Borg subsequently representing Malta at Junior Eurovision in Tbilisi.
Keane Cutajar completes the trio
Joining Malta's two Junior Eurovision champions will be Keane Cutajar, a Maltese broadcaster and presenter with experience across television, live entertainment and social media.
Cutajar has hosted several major Maltese productions, including Isle of MTV 2025 and Michael McIntyre Live in Malta. He has also presented Malta's New Year's Eve television celebrations for two consecutive years.
The decision to reunite the trio for Junior Eurovision therefore gives Malta a hosting team that combines two artists with a direct connection to the competition and a presenter experienced in large-scale live television.
Malta brings the 'Festa' to Junior Eurovision
Junior Eurovision 2026 will be built around the theme 'The Festa', drawing inspiration from Malta's traditional village celebrations.
The host broadcaster, PBS, plans to bring elements of the Maltese festa tradition into the production, including colourful decorations, flags and festoons, brass bands, traditional instruments, processions, lights, confetti and fireworks.
The stage design itself has been inspired by Maltese streetscapes, with colourful façades and traditional balconies incorporated into the visual identity of the show. The organisers say the concept is intended to merge Malta's Mediterranean heritage with the energy of an international music event.
The official Junior Eurovision platform describes the 2026 edition as a celebration where Mediterranean tradition and the future of music meet, with the festa providing the cultural backdrop for the competition.
Malta hosts Junior Eurovision for the third time
The 2026 contest will mark the third time Malta has hosted Junior Eurovision, following the editions held in 2014 and 2016.
The country has a particularly strong record in the competition. Malta has won Junior Eurovision twice — first with Gaia Cauchi in 2013 and then with Destiny Chukunyere in 2015.
This year's contest will bring together 16 countries, with performers aged between nine and 14 competing in Ta' Qali. The participating countries are Albania, Armenia, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Spain and Ukraine.
The live show is scheduled to begin at 21:00 CEST on 24 October, with the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre.
With two former champions at the helm and Malta's festa tradition at the heart of the production, Gaia Cauchi, Destiny Chukunyere and Keane Cutajar will be the faces welcoming the next generation of Junior Eurovision artists to the Maltese stage.
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