Aidan to represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna

Aidan won the Malta Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday evening and will be representing Malta at the annual festival in Vienna, Austria, in May. 

Aidan won with his song Bella, obtaining a total of 283 points.

"This has been my dream since I was a young boy, and because of you, my dream has come true," Aidan told the crowd when he was crowned winner.

He was handed the trophy by last year's winner, Miriana Conte.

Aidan moments after he was announced the winner of the 2026 Malta Eurovision Song Contest. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Matt Blxck, with his song Ejja lejja ħdejja ‘l hawn (The flute), placed a close second with 268 points, and Mychael Bartolo Chircop placed third with his song My Sweet Angel, which received a total of 136 points.

Voting was split between a professional jury panel and nationwide televoting. 

Aidan obtained 113 votes from the jury and 170 points from televoting. Matt Blxck scored the highest number of votes from televoting, receiving 200 points from the public.

Aidan, 26, was an early favourite to win, with his jazzy 1950s-inspired track, which blends Maltese, English, and Italian. His song was a hit among local and international Eurovision fans.

On stage, Aidan wore a black leather cowboy-inspired outfit, with the stage design set to a minimalistic one, until the song hit its climax, and rose petals spun around him. 

Aidan is not new to the world of Eurovision. 

Aidan first entered the Malta Eurovision Song Contest in 2022, when his song Ritmu placed second. 

A year later, Aidan was disqualified from participating in the local song contest after the organisers said he had broken the festival regulations by uploading unauthorised social media posts. 

Aidan during his performance of Bella. Photo: Jonathan Borg

The final was broadcast live from the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre (MFCC), where the 12 artists battled it out to win the right to represent Malta in Vienna.

Eurovision fans packed the MFCC in Ta’Qali and enjoyed a selection of songs varying in genres, from heavy rock, to pop, and country.

Keane Cutajar and former Junior Eurovision winners Destiny Chukunyere and Gaia Cauchi were the hosts.

This year’s contest celebrated nostalgia with the theme The first evening I loved (L-ewwel lejla li ħabbejt).

The final kicked off with the singers introduced on the stage with an electro remix of some of the songs that previously won the local competition, including Chiara’s 2005 hit Angel and Ira Losco’s 2002 7th Wonder.

Both songs had done well in the international competition, placing second in the international competition.

Mychael Bartolo Chricop performing his track 'My Sweet Angel'. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Mark Anthony Bartolo performed his emotional 'Mumenti Sbieħ'. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Janice Mangion kicked off the contest with her ballad Univers, and the 25-year-old Maltese twins Shaian and Celine Muscat, who go by the stage name Adria Twins, were the last to perform before the televoting opened with their Maltese song Nerġa Nqum.

While people were voting, the show continued with guest performances. Among them, Chukunyere sang a duet with last year's Junior Eurovision winner, singer Eliza Borg. 

Destiny also sang her 2021 entry Je Me Casse, which placed seventh in the Eurovision Song Contest. She also sang All of My Love, her entry for the 2020 international song contest, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Maltese rock band Scream Daisy also performed on the night, and got the crowd going with their popular 2002 track Room 7.

Nathan Psaila performing 'Ganador'. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Franklin Calleja singing 'Guide You Home'. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Kelsie Borg with her track 'Let a Girl Breathe'. Photo: Jonathan Borg

At 12.30am the crowd went crazy when Baby Lasagna played his rock and high-energy track Rim Tim Tagi Dim. Representing Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024, the singer had finished second.

Last year’s Malta Eurovision Song Contest winner, Miriana Conte, performed songs from her new album Overstimulated, including GHAJJEJT (i8), Napoletana and That Kind of Man, dedicated to her father.

At a point, her father, clearly moved by the song and wiping tears from his eyes, ended up on the stage alongside Miriana, her mother and her younger sister. 

She ended her performance with, of course, her cheeky play on-word song Kant (the original version, before the European Broadcasting Union banned it).

The show was organised by PBS.

The two semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest will be held on May 12 and 14, and the final on May 16. Malta will perform during the second semi-final.