Maltese delegation disappointed but serene

The general verdict in Istanbul yesterday was that Malta deserved a better placing in the 49th Eurovision Song Contest, but everyone was happy that Julie and Ludwig secured a place in next year's final.

Julie and Ludwig placed 12th, scraping through by a whisker despite a tie with Croatia, after it was established that the country which obtained points from the highest number of countries would qualify. This, coupled with the fact that the big four - Spain, France, Germany and the UK - are always guaranteed a place in the final, meant Malta was through.

Holding a post-mortem of the contest over breakfast, the Maltese delegation agreed that Julie and Ludwig gave it their best shot and did well considering that many countries blatantly voted for their neighbours.

Nobody contested the fact that the Ukraine deserved to win and, in fact, consistently received high points from everybody. However, the debate was how the neighbourly votes determined Malta's placing.

Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg, the composer and author of the song On Again... Off Again, noted that this was not unusual and there would always be countries that voted for their neighbours.

"However, this never determines the winner. I believe Malta deserved a better placing but the fact that our song came just before Serbia's was not exactly to our advantage since the mood was completely different," Mr Vella said.

"Yet, judging by past experience in numerous Eurovision contests, it is hard to follow a pattern and create a package because it changes each year," he continued.

Mr Vella pointed out that the first five ranking countries were of a completely different genre with ethnic folk songs, dance and ballads all winning the support of the international public.

"This makes it more challenging for local composers and authors to come up with a winning package. But that is the excitement of Eurovision after all," he said.

Mr Borg agreed fully, but added that so long as there was a concentration of Baltic countries in the race but having one good song, they could easily determine the winner with their neighbourly votes.

He also observed that the majority of countries, which made it to the top places, were the ones that first had to qualify in the semi-final, including the winner Ukraine.

For the second year running, the song with the best spectacle won the contest and the Ukraine's singer, Ruslana, with her troupe of sexy leather-clad dancers, stole the show with their interpretation of Wild Dances.

Looking back on the festival, Maltasong chairman Grace Borg said she slept peacefully for the first time after learning that Malta had made it to the final.

"I had a job to do and I did it with the support of all the team. Of course, we came here to win, but who doesn't? We accept reality and I am happy that next year the contestant would not have to go through the ordeal of a semi-final and a final back-to-back," she said.

Norman Hamilton, vice-president of the International Federation of Festival Organisers (Fidof), also commented that placing 12th was no mean feat.

"Julie and Ludwig overcame two hurdles and considering everything, they made us proud. They battled against all odds and got us back in the final," he said.

Looking slightly tired after a sleepless night, Julie and Ludwig were taking everything in their stride, despite being somewhat disillusioned with the result.

"Overall we achieved what we came here to do - with great pains but we did it. It's only natural to be disappointed because I believed we deserved more but, hey, the result is in the people's hands," Ludwig said.

"I keep thinking of how we could have done things differently but I cannot come up with anything," he added.

The young couple have done their utmost to remain focused and it was not easy considering that they had to undergo two technical sound glitches during their final rehearsals.

Asked if this affected them psychologically, both said it was always there at the back of their mind but they made a concerted effort to put the incident behind them and focus on their performance.

"This has been an exciting two weeks and a great experience. Now we are looking ahead to new opportunities - you never know what the future holds," Julie said with a smile.

Together with Mr Vella and Mr Borg, Julie and Ludwig are also planning to release an album in the very near future.

"The two are popular with the Maltese and we plan on exploiting their talents to release new material. The Eurovision is not the end," Mr Vella said.

It was learnt yesterday that On Again... Off Again had placed eight at Wednesday's semi-finals, with Serbia and Montenegro placing first.

Julie and Ludwig will be returning to Malta this morning on Air Malta flight KM 785, which is estimated to land at 6.30.