The Junior Eurovision Song Contest co-host said children are "very aware" of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and hopes by watching the singing competition they see there is "a lot of unity across Europe".
CBBC presenter Lauren Layfield and musician HRVY will host the junior song contest on Saturday, which will be broadcast live from Yerevan, Armenia, on TG4 and on BBC.
Earlier this year, Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest with folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra, having been frontrunners since Russia's invasion in February.
Speaking of her hopes for the junior competition, Layfield told the PA news agency: "I think it's been a really rough few years and I think that kids have really sucked that up.
"They're very aware that there's a lot of difficult things going on, particularly they know a lot about the Ukraine and Russia situation.
"I would really hope that they can watch this and go 'actually there's a lot of unity across Europe'. I hope they hold on to that."
Sophie Lennon is set to represent Ireland in the competition over the weekend with her track, Solas.
13-year-old Sophie, who is from the small village of Mayobridge just outside of Newry, County Down, will perform this afternoon in Yerevan, Armenia. You can vote for her here.
Dozens of young, talented singers from 16 countries will perform in the Armenian capital for the 20th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The show will be broadcast live on TG4 on 11 December from 3pm.
HRVY, whose full name is Harvey Cantwell, said he got hosting tips from BBC Radio 2 broadcaster Scott Mills, who hosted the semi-finals of Eurovision this year.
He told PA: "Everyone is going to be watching, especially after the last Eurovision, I think just everyone is really invested into it now.
"I did get a few tips from Scott Mills because he does it with Rylan (Clark) in the semi-finals and he sent me some voice notes about how to prepare, they were really serious.
"He said I've got to make notes and it wasn't like radio Scott, this was a serious Scott."
Meanwhile, Layfield said of the competition: "Eurovision is iconic. When I got the phone call saying listen, the deal is not sealed but you might be doing like Graham Norton's job, I genuinely almost fell off my chair.
"He is just elite at what he does."
The UK is competing for the first time since 2005 with 13-year-old Buckinghamshire schoolgirl Freya Skye who will perform the song Lose My Head.
Layfield told PA: "Freya is a star, I can see her going on to have an Anne-Marie, Becky Hill-type career, she's got it all.
"It's crazy, she's a fully-fledged ready-to-go pop star. She probably is nervous but you don't see the nerves because she's just so excited to be there. She is just super talented and one to watch.
"They are doing a massive, amazing and brave thing by representing their countries.
"It's amazing, they're ready to go and it's such a wicked platform for young people to have - we could literally be seeing the star of the future at this competition."
HRVY said he watched Skye's perform the Eurovision entry at Children In Need and thought she "absolutely smashed it".
The singer, who got his first record deal at age 13, said: "I do feel like I'm going to know how she's feeling a tiny bit. She's very young, she's 13.
"All I know is she is going to be very excited. Getting this far and representing the UK is incredible and I think she's just going to want to get out there and perform.
"There not very many shows outside of The Voice Kids that showcases young talent. Honestly, the talent, I genuinely think these kids are better than the actual Eurovision itself."
Source: Press Association
