Malta will decide its representative for May’s Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday.
But unlike previous years, the Malta Eurovision Song Contest’s 12 finalists will not perform in front of a live theatre audience but at TVM studios.
Televoting and a jury will decide the winner.
“We are focusing more on giving the best experience to television viewers this year,” said Charles Dalli, editor at Public Broadcasting Services.
Holding the contest in Guardamangia’s studios means a better-produced final product for viewers, he said.
Malta Eurovision 2011 contest winner Glenn Vella said a show dedicated to television would likely improve the viewers’ experience.
“Still, I think artists will miss performing in front of a live audience. Having an audience makes it more exciting for a performer and I think singers will miss the sound of applause after their song,” the One Life singer said.
We are focusing more on giving the best experience to television viewers this year
Claudette Buttigieg, who won the Malta Eurovision in 2000, had similar feelings.
Her winning song, Desire, is still popular among many in Malta.
“Performers will miss not having an audience. For many, singing live in front of thousands during the Malta Eurovision, was the highlight of their career,” Buttigieg said.
She added that the winner of the Malta contest will have to perform in front of a large audience when they sing at Eurovision.
But Maltese singers now had other opportunities to sing in live audience song contests, Buttigieg added, mentioning the Maltese language festival Mużika Mużika as an example.
Buttigieg, a Nationalist Party MP, shadows broadcasting from the opposition benches.
She is hoping to see “something of very good quality,” adding that PBS should always provide a high-quality product while also considering costs.
Music videos for all singers
Another change this year is that each finalist has been given €5,000 to produce a music video. Those videos will be shown on February 1.
This year’s Eurovision will also have an award for best music video. The idea, Dalli explained, is for singers to have something to show after the contest is over, so that more singers will be promoted through the Malta Eurovision.
This year’s Malta Eurovision Song Contest will start today with interviews with the 12 finalists running until January 31.
Following the music video night on February 1, the 12 finalists will perform songs from past editions of the Eurovision on February 2, before the finale is held on February 3.
The way Malta decides its Eurovision representatives has seen some changes in recent years.
In 2019 and 2021, Michela Pace and Destiny Chukunyere represented Malta on the European stage after winning X-Factor Malta.
The COVID-19 pandemic stopped the 2020 Eurovision from taking place.
In 2022 and 2023, the Malta contest returned with Emma Muscat and The Busker winning a live event.
Last year’s live final was very popular with local viewers. The competition’s grand finale saw 265,000 viewers tuning in: more than half Malta’s population.