Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe, located in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago between Italy and Libya. It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of Sicily (Italy), 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. The official languages are Maltese and English, and 66% of the population is at least conversant in Italian.
Valletta is an administrative unit and the capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was 6,444. According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe, and at just 0.61 square kilometres (0.24 sq mi), it is the European Union's smallest capital city.
ExCeL London is an international exhibition and convention Centre in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. The facility is situated on a 100-acre (0.40 km2) site on the northern quay of the Royal Victoria Dock in London Docklands, located between Canary Wharf and London City Airport.
Bay Radio, also known as 89.7 Bay, is a radio station located in Malta. Bay Radio is owned by the Eden Leisure Group and was founded in 1991.
Malta has entered the Junior Eurovision Song Contest eighteen times since debuting at the first contest in 2003. Maltese broadcaster PBS has been responsible for the country's participation, and organises a televised national final to select the country's entrant. Malta did not participate in 2011 and 2012, and selected the entrant internally instead of using a national final in 2013 and 2014.
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "One Life" written by Paul Giordimaina and Fleur Balzan. The song was performed by Glen Vella. The Maltese entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany was selected through the national final Malta Eurosong 2011, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a semi-final round and a final, held on 11 and 12 February 2011, respectively, where "One Life" performed by Glen Vella eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a six-member jury and a public televote.
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "This Is the Night" written by Johan Jämtberg, Kurt Calleja and Mikael Gunnerås. The song was performed by Kurt Calleja. The Maltese entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2012, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a semi-final round and a final, held on 3 and 4 February 2013, respectively, where "This Is the Night" performed by Kurt Calleja eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a six-member jury and a public televote.
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Coming Home" written by Richard Micallef. The song was performed by Firelight. The Maltese entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark was selected through the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2014, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a semi-final round and a final, held on 7 and 8 February 2014, respectively, where "Coming Home" performed by Firelight eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a five-member jury and a public televote.
Although Malta is a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with a small population, it is nonetheless rich in its history and its culture. When in the 1950s, in nearby Italy the San Remo Festival, and later in Switzerland, the Eurovision Song Contest came into existence, Malta soon followed suit by organizing its own National Song Festival.
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "On Again... Off Again" written by Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg. The song was performed by the duo Julie and Ludwig. The Maltese entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey was selected through the national final Malta Song for Europe 2004, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a final, held on 13 and 14 February 2004, where "On Again... Off Again" performed by Julie and Ludwig eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a four-member jury and a public televote.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the fourteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, Malta. This was the second time that Malta have hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, their first being in 2014. Jon Ola Sand was appointed as the Executive Supervisor for the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, following the dismissal of the former supervisor, Vladislav Yakovlev.
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Walk on Water" written by Lisa Desmond, Tim Larsson, Tobias Lundgren, Molly Pettersson Hammar and Ira Losco. The song was performed by Losco, who had previously represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in the 2002 edition where she achieved second place with the song "7th Wonder".
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Breathlessly" written by Philip Vella, Sean Vella and Gerard James Borg. The song was performed by Claudia Faniello. The Maltese entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2017, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a final, held on 18 February 2017, where "Breathlessly" performed by Claudia Faniello eventually emerged as the winning entry after gaining 26% of the public televote.
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Chameleon" written by Joacim Persson, Paula Winger, Borislav Milanov and Johan Alkenäs. The song was performed by Michela. The Maltese entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel, was selected through the first season of the music competition X Factor Malta, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition concluded with a final on 26 January 2019 where Michela eventually emerged as the winner. The song Michela would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest, "Chameleon", was internally selected and released to the public on 10 March.
Malta originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "All of My Love" written by Bernarda Brunović, Borislav Milanov, Sebastian Arman, Dag Lundberg, Joacim Persson and Cesár Sampson. The song was performed by Destiny, who had previously represented Malta at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in the 2015 edition where she achieved first place with the song "Not My Soul". Songwriter Cesár Sampson previously represented Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest in the 2018 edition where he achieved third place with the song "Nobody but You". The Maltese entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands, was selected through the second season of the music competition X Factor Malta, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition concluded with a final on 8 February 2020 where Destiny eventually emerged as the winner. The song Destiny would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest, "All of My Love", was internally selected and was released to the public on 9 March.
The Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre is a multi-purpose venue located in Ta' Qali, Attard, Malta. The centre can be used for concerts, exhibitions, trade fairs, examinations, conferences, galas and weddings. After its expansion in 2018, the venue measures 170m x 50m, totalling 8,500m². The venue can hold up to 14,000 people standing and 10,268 people seated, making it Malta's largest indoor venue.
The 3 Music Award is Ghanaian music awards ceremony held annually since 2018 to celebrate Ghanaian music. It was established by the 3Music Network with Media General TV3 as broadcasters. The Multimedia group became the media right holder in the second and subsequent edition. In 2020, the Fan fest which was scheduled to take place at the Accra Polo Grounds was cancelled and a Virtual award ceremony was held from the Fantasy Dome, Trade Fair La. This was because of the ban on public gathering due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Je me casse" written by Malin Christin, Amanuel Dermont, Nicklas Eklund and Pete Barringer. The song was performed by Destiny Chukunyere, who was due to compete in the 2020 contest with "All of My Love" before the 2020 event's cancellation. The song Destiny would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest, "Je me casse", was also internally selected and was released to the public on 15 March.
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with the song "I Am What I Am" performed by Emma Muscat. The Maltese entry for the 2022 contest was initially selected through the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2022, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a semi-final round, a special show and a final, held on 17, 18 and 19 February 2022, respectively, where "Out of Sight" performed by Muscat eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a six-member jury and a public televote. On 14 March 2022, PBS announced that Muscat would ultimately perform "I Am What I Am" in Turin; the song was released to the public on the same day.
