Editorial: What exactly are we paying for?

The Eurovision Song Contest is over and we can all resort to our keyboards to explain why we should have boycotted the event, not taken part, spent more or less money on it... The iterations number only slightly lower than our average placing.

For the record, the competition – the 70th edition – was won by Bulgarian singer Dara while Malta’s Aidan placed 18th.

Going back to the arguments, it is worth bearing in mind that, apart from boycotting the event, these are the same arguments that resurface every year and – unless something changes dramatically – will be up for deliberation again next year.

It has to be said that each of these points of view deserves consideration, starting with whether Malta should have boycotted the event because of Israel’s presence at the festival despite the horror it unleashed on Gaza. 

Countries such as Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands decided to stay out while Belgium is reportedly considering boycotting next year’s contest, dismayed that the European Broadcasting Union has not taken a stronger stand. 

Times of Malta was in favour of a boycott, arguing that “culture and politics are not – and have never been – completely separable”. Will Malta’s stand – or that of the EBU – change in 2027?

The next issue is whether Malta should participate at all in this yearly bonanza. Malta first took part in 1971 but took a 16-year break until Public Broadcasting Services took over in 1991. 

We placed second twice, and third once, otherwise, our results have been somewhat lacklustre. Many come back with the same question each year: why should we take part?

The festival has been a marvellous opportunity for some participants but would they have made a name for themselves anyway? 

Those who disappeared without trace show how little long-term impact the competition has, an unfortunate reality which applies as much to Malta as it does to the countless other countries that have performed, whether they placed better than Malta or not.

The next issue is about the money we put into this festival. To start off with, any money spent from the public purse must be justified – not immediately but eventually. 

We seem to accept that it is fine to spend money if you have it, without taking into account where else that money could have been spent. 

How does this expenditure benefit citizens? Does waving the flag during the Eurovision – irrespective of the video promoting the island – have any impact on tourism, for example? 

We do not know because of the veils of obfuscation waved every year – including this one – with pathetic excuses about commercial interests among others. 

Times of Malta reached out to Public Broadcasting Services and the culture ministry requesting a breakdown of all marketing, promotional activities, and total costs related to Malta’s Eurovision participation. But we received no responses.

It is our tax money and we have a right to know how much has been spent on publicity and on what it has been spent. We deserve to know that every euro was spent appropriately and not on vague and nefarious schemes, just as we deserve to know who felt they had a seat on the gravy train. 

It is one thing paying for participation, another for promotion. This year we saw a 12-country promo tour, billboards erected across European countries, full-page British newspaper adverts and paid online coverage. 

In 2021, we reportedly spent €650,000, including boosting the song with bookmakers. We will probably never get to know how much money was wasted to boost this year’s song – and all for eight public votes!

We have no one to blame but ourselves.