Malta serves success as Miriana Conte qualifies for Eurovision final
Malta makes it past the semi-final stage of the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time since 2021
Malta’s Miriana Conte has ended a losing-streak by qualifying for Saturday’s Eurovision Song Contest in the second semi-final in Switzerland on Thursday night.
It’s the first time Malta has reached the final stage since 2021.
The 24-year-old from Qormi had one of the most controversial entries, having to retitle her song Serving following complaints. It was originally titled Kant, the Maltese word for singing, which sounds similar to an English swearword.
She will follow in the footsteps of previous Maltese entrants from Mary Spiteri to Ira Losco.
Malta was one of 16 countries competing in the second semi-final for just 10 places in the final.
Thank you for joining us and we'll be serving you once again on Saturday for the final.
LIVE BLOG
23:35
And that's a wrap.
Now that we've all had a chance to catch our breath, here are all the countries that are through to the final.
- Malta
- Latvia
- Armenia
- Greece
- Austria
- Lithuania
- Denmark
- Luxembourg
- Finland
- Israel
I got 6 out of 10 right, which is honestly more than I thought I would.
MALTA IS THROUGH
Thank God, that was becoming unbearable.
Miriana will be serving (Kant via the audience) in the final on Saturday.
Phew.
23:19
Luxembourg and Finland through
It's going to go down to the wire for Malta...
I told you this was tense
And again, Malta appears onscreen but Austria goes through.
Denmark is also through.
23:18
Israel and Armenia through
Malta appears onstage but has to wait a little longer...
23:17
Added suspense and Lithuania through
They're doing a new thing this year where three countries are shown on the screen and only one will go through (the other two don't go out just yet).
Lithuania is the first country through.
23:10
Destiny Returns
As voting continues, we're treated to a medley of songs-that-never-were from Eurovision 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Well that's a nice gesture.
Among them is our very own Destiny, singing All My Love, which was replaced by Je Me Casse in the 2021 edition, earning Destiny seventh place. It's not just me who thinks this song is better, right?
That was the last time we qualified for the final, incidentally. Will Miriana break our losing streak?
22:56
Ara Malta
Eurovision in our blood? Mhux potato?
22:50
I realised I abandoned the Bonkers Scale after Miriana took the stage. For what it's worth, here are the countries I think will go through tonight:
- Australia
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Austria
- Denmark
- Luxembourg
- Finland
- Georgia
- Israel
- Malta (almost had you for a second there didn't I?)
22:41
Voting time
And that's all the 16 songs we'll be hearing tonight.
Now's the time to enlist your friends to give a helping hand to Miriana.
Only residents of countries in this semi-final can vote for Serving, as well as people living in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
You can cast your vote by phone, SMS or the Eurovision Song Contest app.
22:37
Finland
Erika Vikman - ICH KOMME
We close the night as we started it, with a suggestive pun. Seriously, I feel like a lot of these acts tonight need to be hosed down with ice-cold water.
22:32
Serbia
Princ - Mila
Do we have any What We Do In The Shadows fans in the house tonight? If so, three words: Nandor The Relentless.
22:28
Germany
Abor & Tynna – Baller
My Tiktok feed has been completely blitzed by the song in recent weeks. I feel like they've been trying to brainwash me into voting for it, but luckily I'm immune to such tricks.
In a completely unrelated note, it's my absolute favourite song on the night.
22:22
Israel
Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise
Next up is Israel's Yuval Raphel with her song New Day Will Rise.
More than 70 former Eurovision contestants signed an open letter demanding Israel and its national broadcaster KAN to be banned from this year’s contest.
At last year's contest boos and whistles directed at the Israeli act by the live audience were replaced by fake cheering.
22:18
Luxembourg
Laura Thorn – La Poupée Monte Le Son
22:14
Czechia
ADONXS – Kiss Kiss Goodbye
I have a feeling Czechia will be saying kiss kiss goodbye to Eurovision.
22:09
Denmark
Sissal – Hallucination
Another Eurodance bop. The chorus of this has been stuck in my head for the past few days. Well, to be precise, "Haluuuuuuu".
22:05
France
Louane – maman
Someone needs to tell the arena that sand (or couscous) is leaking from the roof.
Or, as per a colleague:
France's entry reminds me of a kid in Għadira not wanting to leave, so just rolling in the sand as the parents look on in exhaustion.
Georgia
Mariam Shengelia – Freedom
Apologies - what with the news that the crowd loudly sang 'Kant', I neglected Georgia's entry.
21:55
The crowd serves Kant
I have it on the authority of two separate sources inside the arena that the crowd did indeed belt out 'KANT'!
I can't believe Eurovision would censor the crowd. Shocked, shocked I tell you!
21:54
Malta
Miriana Conte - Serving
There's our girl. Miriana serves a great performance. As the youth would say, she slayed with no crumbs. Or something like that. 10/10 notes.
The big question in the lead-up to the show was whether the crowd would sing 'Kant'. It's hard to tell but I did think the crowd sounded a bit muted. We'll try and find out.
Bonkers Rating: 10
Do I think it will qualify? HELL YES.
21:49
Lithuania
Katarsis - Tavo Akys
I can’t speak Lithuanian but I imagine he’s singing about how life is unfair and how much it sucks that Austin Powers always foils his evil (Evil) plans.
What with the way he had his hand on his stomach the whole time, I thought we were going to be in for our first dramatic costume change of the evening, where he’d reveal he was wearing a corset. Sadly (or thankfully) that wasn’t the case.
Bonkers Rating: 4
Do I think it will qualify? No (apparently these guys are big in their home country so what do I know?)
21:44
Greece
Klavdia - Asteromáta
Maybe it's the glasses but Klavdia is giving me newly qualified teacher vibes.
This is one of those songs that I don't have much to write about, so let's take a second to appreciate the incredible visual effects on show so far.
Bonkers Rating: 2
Do I think it will qualify? No
21:40
United Kingdom
Remember Monday – What The Hell Just Happened?
The UK qualifies automatically because it’s one of the so-called ‘Big Five’ - countries that contribute the most money to Eurovision. Nonetheless, their entry will get a run-out tonight, as will France and Germany’s. But they won't need your votes until Saturday.
The UK is represented by a group called Remember Monday. I personally remember Monday as a day when I hadn't yet listened to this song. A happier time.
21:32
Austria
JJ - Wasted Love
Sad boy alert! Not just any sad boy – a sad boy with a soaring falsetto voice.
Seriously though, his voice might not be my cup of tea, but it is impressive. Bookmakers predict this will be one of the favourites to win the competition.
Bonkers Rating: 2
Do I think it will qualify? Yes
21:28
Armenia
PARG - SURVIVOR
Here’s Armenia with our first foot-stomper of the evening.
Firstly, why are both the artist and song title in capital letters? Are they hoping to reach Europe’s visually impaired?
Anyway, PARG wants us all to know he’s a survivor. He’s like a river. He’s like a flower. A child of destiny, one might say.
Bonkers Rating: 3
Do I think it will qualify? No.
21:22
Latvia
Tautumeitas - Bur Man Laimi
Nice try, beautiful Northern European forest nymphs, but I’ve watched Midsommar and know exactly what you’re up to.
At least I do this time, after I visited Riga last year and came back with only one kidney.
Fun fact: The members of Tautumeitas are big animal lovers, and between the six of them, they own 150 sheep.
Bonkers Rating: 2
Do I think it will qualify? Yes
21:17
Ireland
EMMY - Laika Party
This is my favourite song when it comes to the choice of subject matter.
Laika was a stray dog from the streets of Moscow that the Soviet Union launched into space in 1957. Unfortunately they hadn’t quite yet figured out to bring things back safely, so she sadly died of hypothermia.
This 90s Eurodance anthem offers a happier alternative ending, though, with singer EMMY hoping that Laika is still alive, orbiting Earth and partying like only a dog that’s been shot into outerspace for the lolz knows how.
To cut a long story short, this is quintessential Eurovision.
Bonkers Rating: 7
Do I think it will qualify? Yes
21:14
Montenegro
Nina Žižić - Dobrodošli
Next up is Montenegro’s Nina Žižić, our first solo songstress of the night, singing a slightly more downtempo, less bodily-fluids-themed song.
This is Žižić’s second appearance at the contest, having taken part back in 2013. She didn’t qualify then, and I have a feeling she won’t fare better this year.
Bonkers Rating: 2
Do I think it will qualify? No.
21:08
Australia
Go-Jo – Milkshake Man
Australia’s Go-Jo gets things underway with Milkshake Man, a frenetic song that is definitely about milkshake and nothing else.
Also, on a completely unrelated note, this is the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Bonkers Rating: 7
Do I think it will qualify? Yes
21:06
Scoring
Did you know that in 1972, a scale to measure the quirkiness of a Eurovision song was invented by Dutch scientist Gert Van Bonkers? I will be using the Bonkers Scale this evening, while also putting my journalistic credibility on the line by predicting whether or not a song will qualify.
9:03pm
Meet the hosts
Our hosts for the evening are comedian Hazel Brugger and singer/presenter Sandra Studer.
Let's see if they'll be entertaining or as wooden as a cuckoo clock.
8:58pm
Bon soir
Good evening and welcome to Times of Malta’s Eurovision live blog with me Matt Bonanno.
It’s been a grey, stormy day in Malta, so let’s hope Miriana Conte will serve us some sunshine from Switzerland and qualify for the final in Basel on Saturday.
We’ll be updating you on everything that goes on throughout the night, so make sure to regularly refresh the page for the latest entries.