Spain to host next Catholic youth festival

Pope Benedict XVI says the next Roman Catholic youth festival will be held in Spain in 2011 and has indicated that he hopes to attend.

Benedict made the announcement today at the final Mass of the current edition of World Youth Day being held in Sydney, Australia.

The 81-year-old pontiff said the next World Youth Day would take place in the Spanish capital of Madrid.

"I look forward to seeing you again in three years' time," he said.

The festival was first held in 1984 and draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world to the city that hosts it.

The festival aims to inspire a new generation of Catholics, a faith that has more than one billion followers worldwide.