Norway, Sweden and Denmark are to withdraw from this year's Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Romania, Norwegian broadcaster NRK revealed today.

NRK officials are unhappy with the amount of commercial pressure placed on the young contestants in the final, and instead are pushing for a Nordic final held jointly with Sweden and Denmark. The details have yet to be finalised, but the show is planned to be held in Stockholm this November.

The Junior Melodi Grand Prix, the Norwegian selection program which was originally intended to determine this year's entrant for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, is still scheduled to go ahead. However, its winners are now destined for the new Nordic final rather than the international contest in Bucharest.