Taylor Swift, Charli XCX and Billie Eilish are among the female artists tipped to dominate the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards to be held in Manchester, northwest England, on Sunday.
The ceremony's 30th edition, which brings together the biggest names in world music, gets under way at the city's new Co-op Live venue from 8:00 pm (2000 GMT).
British singer Rita Ora will host the awards, which are being held in Britain for the seventh time.
Ten of the eleven artists with the most nominations are women, with megastar Taylor Swift leading the way.
The American, whose ongoing "Eras" tour is the most lucrative in history, is nominated in seven categories following the release this year of her 11th album "The Tortured Poets Department".
In the Best Artist category she will go up against compatriots Beyonce, Eilish, male rapper Post Malone and British star Raye, who won a record six gongs at this year's Brit Awards.
Sabrina Carpenter, one of the stars of the summer with her hit "Please Please Please", completes the nominees.
Best Song is between Eilish's "Birds of a Feather", Carpenter's "Espresso", Beyonce's "Texas Hold 'Em", "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone, Chappell Roan's "Good Luck, Babe!", and "We Can't Be Friends" by Ariana Grande.
Rising female stars in contention in other categories include Lisa of the ultra-popular K-pop group Blackpink, and Nigerian star Ayra Starr.
As with the US music industry's Grammy awards, Latino artists, including stars such as Puerto Rican Bad Bunny and Colombian Karol G were left out of the top categories this year despite their global hits.
Both have been included in the Best Latin field, alongside Shakira, who has revived her career with the hit "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53", about her separation from ex-footballer Gerard Pique.
Other artists up for awards include Travis Scott, Dua Lipa and Charli XCX, who is nominated in four categories. Busta Rhymes is due to receive the global icon award.
This is the first MTV Europe Music Awards since 2022 after last year's edition, to be held near Paris, was cancelled because of the war between Israel and Hamas.