Malta's Sarah Bonnici will not be performing at the Eurovision Song Contest final on Saturday after her song Loop failed to make it through Thursday's semi-final.

The Gozitan singer put up an electrifying performance on Thursday, being randomly selected to open the show on the night. 

But sadly, it was not enough, and Malta was left out of the list of countries that qualified to Saturday's grand finale. 

Bonnici's early exit means Malta has been eliminated at the semi-final stage of three consecutive editions of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Sarah Bonnici during a dress rehearsal ahead of the second semi-final. Photo: Alma Bengtsson

The semi-final qualifiers - held on Tuesday and Thursday - were determined entirely through a public vote.

A combination of jury and public voting will determine the final outcome for the 68th final of the Eurovision song contest on Saturday.

Long odds

For weeks now, bookmakers have said the chances of the 25-year-old securing a spot in Saturday's showpiece were low. 

But ahead of the semi-final on Thursday, the singer told Times of Malta she was ready for battle. 

"Despite it being very challenging and the reality of the odds, I am very happy to face this with great courage, as I have been working so hard. We (the team) have prepared for this for so long, and we are ready to give a great performance... the rest is not in our control."

Bonnici performs during Thursday's event. Photo: Wojciech Pędzich/Wikimedia Commons CC by 4.0

During the semi-final performance, Bonnici's odds improved slightly.

The last time Malta made it to the Eurovision final was in 2021 when Destiny Chukunyere sailed through the semi-final with her song Je Me Casse.

Since then, both Emma Muscat and The Busker failed to make it through. 

The other countries to qualify for the final were Latvia, Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Israel, Greece, Estonia, Switzerland, Georgia and Armenia.

They will be joined in the finals on Saturday by Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine and the “big five”- Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom- as well as last year’s winner Sweden.

Israel - Palestine controversy

Most participants hail from European countries, however, Australia joined the contest in 2015 and has been participating ever since. However, Australia cannot host if it ever wins.

Israel is another non-European contestant that however participates because it is a member of the EBU.

On Thursday, Israel - currently at war with Palestine - was represented in Sweden by Eden Golan.

AFP reported on Thursday that while inside the  Malmö Arena it was all neon lights, bright costumes and upbeat melodies, outside the mood was more sombre as heavily armed police patrolled the city.

Up to 30,000 demonstrators were expected to protest Israel's participation in the competition over its offensive in Gaza,

Israel's retaliation to Hamas' attack on October 7 that has killed at least 34,844 people in Gaza.

People hold up a Palestinian flag during the preview for the second semi-final of the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) at the Malmö Arena, in Malmö, Sweden, on May 9, 2024. Photo: AFP