YOUNGSTERS are being encouraged to enter a competition to design the front cover of next year’s Brighton Fringe Family Guide.

Under-18s are urged to send in their entries for the A5 booklet, which will be available in early March.

Thousands will be printed and distributed across Brighton and Hove, with the front cover seen by tens of thousands of people.

The theme for this year’s event is ‘It’s Showtime!’ and the closing date for entries is January 12.

The successful artist will also get their talented hands on a VIP pass to all children’s events at award-winning venue The Warren during Brighton Fringe 2015.

The five runners up will also be awarded two tickets each to a Brighton Fringe children’s show of their choice.

The Fringe Family programme is part of the Brighton Fringe festival, which will run for four weeks between May 1 and 31.

Visitors can expect hundreds of shows, featuring everything from comedy to burlesque at venues across the city.

The six-strong judging panel will include a representative from The Argus, the Brighton Fringe 2015 brochure cover artist, the Child Friendly Brighton team, Louise Arnell from The Pebble Trust, Brighton Fringe board member Daisy Cresswell, and a team member from Door 22 Creative.

Julian Caddy, managing director of the festival, said: “Brighton Fringe is all about giving opportunities to everyone to express themselves creatively and the cover of the Family Guide is a massive platform to showcase the talent of a young artist.

“We are looking forward to receiving your entries.”

Budding artists should draw, paint or design their interpretation of ‘It’s Showtime!’ on an A4-sized piece of paper.

They should send it, along with their name, age and school details plus a contact telephone number or email address, to ‘It’s Showtime!’ competition, Brighton Fringe, 5 Palace Place, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1EF.

For more information, visit brightonfringe.org or call 01273 764907.