Miriana plans to 'devour the stage' as 20th performer in Eurovision final
Performing towards the end of the show often boosts a country's chances
Updated at 10.48 am
Miriana Conte will be the 20th performer in Saturday evening's Eurovision Song Contest final, a position that could help boost her chances of performing well.
The Eurovision Grand Final will kick off on Saturday evening with Norway’s Kyle Alessandro singing Lighter, while Albania’s Shkodra Elektronike will close the show with her song Zjerm.
Miriana will be performing after Switzerland and before Portugal. There are 26 finalists in total.
On Thursday night, Malta ended a losing streak by qualifying for the Grand final in the second semi-final in Switzerland with her show-stopper and controversial entry, Serving. It is the first time Malta has reached the final stage since 2021.
Malta will compete with Norway, Luxembourg, Estonia, Israel, Lithuania, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Austria, Iceland, Latvia, Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Poland, Germany, Greece, Armenia, Switzerland, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, France, San Marino and Albania.
Miriana will be the 20th performer out of 26 to take the stage at St Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland. Times of Malta's Matthew Bonanno will be sharing his take on the night during a live blog from 9pm.
Will performing later boost Malta's chances?
Many believe that performing towards the end of the show might help a country’s chances, with the song still fresh in viewers’ minds when the televoting kicks off. Last year’s winners, Switzerland, performed in the 21st spot, with another three winners over the past ten editions performing between 21st and 24th (Italy in 2021, Israel in 2018 and Ukraine in 2016).
Although none of the performers in the 20th spot over the past decade ended up winning the contest, many of them fared well, more often than not ranking among the top ten. France, who performed in the 20th spot in 2021, came closest, finishing second to eventual winners Italy.
But the 20th spot may elicit fond memories among local Eurovision followers. The last time Malta sang in the 20th spot was back in 2002, when Ira Losco’s 7th Wonder narrowly ended the night in second place.
The 24-year-old from Qormi has one of the contest's most controversial entries, having had to retitle her song Serving after the European Broadcasting Union's decision not to allow her to use the word 'Kant' in the song.
It was originally titled Kant, the Maltese word for singing, which sounds similar to an English swearword.
According to bookmakers, Miriana is the 10th favourite to win the contest outright.
Malta has never won the Eurovision, though it came second in 2002 and 2005 with songs by Ira Losco and Chiara.
The last time Malta made it to the final was in 2021, when Destiny earned seventh place with her pop track Je Me Casse.
The Grand Final Running order for Saturday. Photo: Eurovision.tv'Diva not down'
In a quick interview after making it through to the final, an ecstatic Miriana said, "I don't believe it, it's crazy".
"Malta hasn't made it to the final since 2021, so this is mindblowing," she said.
"The three minutes flew by, one thing I told myself is I want to make it through the final and devour the stage again. It was magical!"
How is the running order decided?
Finalists are first randomly drawn from a pot to determine whether they will perform in the show's first or second half, or whether it will be up to show producers to decide where to slot them.
Malta drew the producer's choice option.
Ultimately, it is Eurovision Song Contest producers who choose the specific running order of contestants on the final night. In Malta's case, producers chose to place Malta 20th.