I am not the biggest of fans of the Eurovision song festival, but I enjoy watching it and I believe it is a great opportunity for local artists to showcase their talents. Competition adds to the tension of the whole show and also quenches the artists’ thirst for success.

I guess that in the end everyone ends up voting for their favourite song but I believe the status of a particular singer and subsequently, the country where they come from, makes a slight difference.

The level of the Maltese songs is simply defined as ‘catchy’. We have come nowhere as close as other coun­tries, but at times, we may have breached that line. Anisia Catania, BA French and Geography, 2nd year.

I think the level of songwriting and singing is not taken seriously enough. Not enough hard work is put into it. Some singers are more concerned with being visible, and that is why the level of songs and lyrics is always mediocre.

In my opinion, there’s no competition at all; if there were, singers and song­writers would invest more to make their song memor­able. The competitive ele­ment is obscuring the per­for­mance, since a lot of performers are there to gain more popularity.

Also, when it comes to public voting, a lot of singers urge family members and fans to votefor them.

Most Maltese songs do not reach international quality level, and results speak for themselves when we present our song abroad. Malta always ends up at the bottom.

With regard to the Malta Eurovision song festival, I think that a lot of money is wasted on this competition. Money should be invested elsewhere, for example on the School of Art in Valletta. The building has been deteriorating for years and Maltese students should have the opportunity to study performing arts as their choice of subject. Jessica Zammit, BA Communications and Theatre Studies, 2nd year.

I only watch Eurovision out of sheer curiosity to see who is going to win. I think the competitive element isn’t as evident in recent years as in the past due to better organisation and giving more per­centage of voting to the judges.

Unfortunately, when it comes to televoting there is a huge conflict of interest, sometimes due to political views. This occurs on both locally and internationally.

The few songs I’ve heard are quite good. I think every year we are improving when it comes to songwriting. Maybe this is due to the fact that other authors and composers are entering the contest with a much wider perspective of a ‘good-quality’ product.

I think the Eurovision in Malta is given way too much importance and some people believe it is the sole source for fame and money. However, reality has proven otherwise.

I think singers can opt to promote their music by doing gigs locally and abroad. The money these singers spend can be spent in a more effective way for sure. Terence Gatt, B. Comm, 1st year.