Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest

Malta has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 37 times since its debut in 1971. The current Maltese participating broadcaster in the contest is the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). Malta has yet to win the contest, but is the only non-winning country to have achieved four top three results.

Malta finished last on its first two attempts in 1971 and 1972, and had a 16-year absence from the contest between 1975 and 1991, when it returned. Malta has participated every year since. Malta's return proved more successful, reaching the top 10 in 12 out of 15 contests from 1991 to 2005, including third-place results with "Little Child" performed by Mary Spiteri (1992) and "The One That I Love" by Chiara (1998) and second-place results with "7th Wonder" by Ira Losco (2002) and "Angel" by Chiara (2005). Since finishing last for the third time in 2006, Malta has struggled to make an impact, having achieved only two top 10 results in recent years: first being an eighth-place with "Tomorrow" by Gianluca Bezzina in 2013, and a seventh-place with "Je me casse" by Destiny Chukunyere in 2021.

History

Malta first participated at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971, although its history with the contest dates farther back. The Maltese Broadcasting Authority (MBA) gained associate European Broadcasting Union (EBU) membership on 1 January 1964 and it wrote a letter to the EBU enquiring about if it could participate as an associate member, but received no response. However, MBA still broadcast the 1964 contest. The MBA once again wrote to the EBU in 1965 asking if it could participate. This time the EBU responded but did not allow the MBA to participate in the contest as an associate member. On 1 January 1970, the MBA became an active member of the EBU and participation in the Eurovision Song Contest was possible for the first time. The MBA once again wrote to the EBU enquiring about its participation, but were informed that "Since arrangements for the contest were already in an advanced stage" they could not participate.

The MBA successfully participated at the contest for the first time in 1971. The format for Malta's national finals in the 70s consisted of the Malta Song Festival, which had been held annually in the country since 1960, acting as a semi-final with the highest placing songs going to the Song For Europe contest, where the winner would be chosen by a combination of jury and public votes. Malta's first entry to Eurovision was "Marija l-Maltija" performed by Joe Grech. It scored 52 points and finished last out of 18 countries. Malta participated again in 1972 with "L-imħabba" by Helen & Joseph. It scored 48 points and Malta came last for the second year in a row. The MBA had originally planned to participate in 1973 but due to complications behind their national final where the MBA deemed the participating songs to be "below the European standard", it withdrew as they feared getting last for a third year in a row. Malta never applied for the 1974 contest as they feared getting another low result. Malta returned in 1975 and participated with the song "Singing This Song" by Renato. They scored 32 points and came 12th out of 19 countries. This was considered a success for Malta and enthusiasm for the contest in the Maltese music industry increased drastically. On 11 September 1975, the MBA announced their intention to participate in the 1976 contest and opened song submissions for their national final which closed on 15 October. However on 4 November, the MBA announced their withdrawal from the contest, citing that the participation fee had been drastically increased and Malta could not afford to participate. In a statement released on 20 November, the MBA said that it felt it was "Under no obligation to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest year after year" and Malta did not participate in the contest again until 1991.

Malta's return to the contest by the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) in 1991, after a 16-year absence, proved to be more successful, with eight consecutive top 10 placings (1991–1998) and finishing in the top 10 in 12 out of 15 contests from 1991 to 2005. These results included third-place finishes in 1992 for Mary Spiteri and in 1998 for Chiara and second-place finishes in 2002 for Ira Losco and in 2005 for Chiara, who in 2009 became the first performer to represent Malta at three contests, finishing 22nd. Malta's two second-places and two third-places make it the most successful country not to win the contest.

In the last 15 contests, Malta has only reached the top 10 twice, with Gianluca Bezzina finishing eighth in 2013, and Destiny Chukunyere finishing seventh in 2021. Fabrizio Faniello, who had previously finished ninth in 2001, finished last in the 2006 final, and since then the country has failed to qualify from the semi-final round ten times, in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, and 2024; of these non-qualification, it finished bottom 3 in the semi-final in 2017 and 2022, and last place in 2023 and 2024.

Malta is one of the few countries that has not missed a contest since 1991, together with France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. All of Malta's entries between 1975 and 2025 have been sung fully in its other official language, English, which it was one of the few countries allowed to use in the contest between 1977 and 1999, being a former British colony which (as seen below) has had a close relationship with the UK within the contest. The only use of the Maltese language during this period was three lines in the 2000 entry "Desire" by Claudette Pace. It was not until 2026 that the Maltese language finally returned as it was partially used in the country’s entry, "Bella" by Aidan. Also, along with Croatia and Sweden it was the only country never to be relegated, under the previous rules of the contest, that was not a part of the "Big Four".

Selection process

Malta uses a televised national final to select its entry. From its debut in 1971 through 1976, Malta Song Festival, an existing song festival that had been created in 1960 was used to select the entrant, with the winner going to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest. Malta did not participate in the contest between 1977 and 1990. Since its return in 1991, national finals under various names were held to select the entry, including Malta Song for Europe (Maltese: il-Festival Kanzunetta għall-Ewropa), Malta Eurovision Song Contest, and Malta Eurosong. During this time period, the organization of the event was taken over by the PBS.

A typical Maltese national final would consist of: the rules for submissions by composers, authors, and singers being published in October, first elimination rounds in December, and semi-finalists announced in January. The semi-final would then be held in February, followed two days later by a final to choose Malta's representative at the contest. In 2009, a new format of the contest was introduced, the Malta Eurosong contest, with eight semi-finals held over November 2008 to January 2009, and a final of 20 songs competing in February. In 2010 six semi-finals were held over December 2009 and January 2010, and a final was once again held in February 2010. This format was discontinued for the 2019 and 2020 contests, with PBS instead using X Factor Malta to select the artist. The national final format returned for the 2022 contest with a mixed voting system combining judges votes, as well as audience votes.

Participation overview

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

Winner by OGAE members

Barbara Dex Award

Related involvement

Commentators and spokespersons

All shows are broadcast live on Television Malta (TVM) and Radio Malta.

Photo gallery

• Julie and Ludwig in Istanbul (2004)
• Olivia Lewis in Helsinki (2007)
• Morena in Belgrade (2008)
• Thea Garrett in Oslo (2010)
• Gianluca Bezzina in Malmö (2013)
• Firelight in Copenhagen (2014)
• Amber in Vienna (2015)
• Ira Losco in Stockholm (2016)
• Claudia Faniello in Kyiv (2017)
• Christabelle in Lisbon (2018)
• Michela Pace in Tel Aviv (2019)
• Destiny in Rotterdam (2021)
• Emma Muscat in Turin (2022)
• The Busker in Liverpool (2023)
• Sarah Bonnici in Malmö (2024)
• Miriana Conte in Basel (2025)

Notes

Further reading

• Cremona, George (2018). (PDF). Symposia Melitensia (14): 151–160. ISSN .