Malta is set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the song "Bella", written by Aidan Cassar, Joep van den Boom and Sarah Bonnici, and performed by Aidan himself. The Maltese participating broadcaster, Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), organised the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2026 to select its entry for the contest.
Prior to the 2026 contest, the Maltese Broadcasting Authority (MBA) until 1975, and the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) since 1991, have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Malta thirty-seven times since MBA's first entry in 1971. MBA briefly competed in the contest in the 1970s before withdrawing for sixteen years, while PBS competed in every contest since their return in 1991. Their best placing in the contest so far is second, which it achieved on two occasions; 2002 with the song "7th Wonder" performed by Ira Losco, and in 2005 with the song "Angel" performed by Chiara.[1] In 2025, "Serving" performed by Miriana Conte qualified to the final and placed 17th.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, PBS organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its intentions to participate at the 2026 contest on 29 May 2025.[2] Since 2022, PBS has selected its entry through a national final procedure called Malta Eurovision Song Contest (MESC), a method that will be continued for its 2026 participation.[2]
Before Eurovision
Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2026
Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2026 was the national final format developed by PBS to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The competition consisted of a semi-final and final held on 15 and 17 January 2026, respectively, at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta' Qali. Both shows were hosted by Keane Cutajar, Destiny Chukunyere (who won Junior Eurovision 2015 and represented Malta in Eurovision 2021) and Gaia Cauchi (who won Junior Eurovision 2013).[3] The competition was broadcast live on TVM as well as on TVM+ with Maltese sign language interpretation and lyrics, as well as on the broadcaster's streaming service TVMi.[4] The final was also broadcast on the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel.[5]
Format
The competition consisted of eighteen songs competing in the semi-final on 15 January 2026 where the top twelve entries qualified to compete in the final on 17 January 2026. Ten judges and the public via televoting evaluated the songs during the shows, both of which had an equal stake (50%) in the final result. Ties in the final results were broken based on the entry which received the higher score from the public.[6] The ten members of the jury that evaluated the entries during the semi-final and final consisted of:[7]
Kevin Abela (Malta) – Orchestrator, arranger and director
Alexia Souferi (Greece) – International television and media executive at Antenna Group
Competing entries
Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 17 and 23 November 2025.[8][9] Songwriters from any nationality were able to submit songs as long as the artist (at least half of the lead vocalists for groups or duos) and one of the songwriters per entry were Maltese or possessed Maltese citizenship.[6] A songwriting camp called the MESC Music Exchange Camp was held between 15 and 24 June 2025 in order to create songs to be submitted for the competition, with up to 80 songs eventually created in the camp.[2][10][11] 18 semi-finalist entries were selected and announced during a special programme aired on TVM, hosted by Daniel Testa (who represented Malta in Junior Eurovision 2008) and Ylenia Spiteri, on 1 December 2025.[12]
The semi-final took place on 15 January 2026. Eighteen songs competed for twelve qualifying spots in the final. The running order was announced on 13 January 2026.[13] The interval act of the show featured performances by Gaia Cauchi, Tommy Cash, who represented Estonia in 2025, the Mużika Mużika 2025 winner Jamie Cardona, and musician Ivan Grech.[14]
The final took place on 17 January 2026.[3] The twelve entries that qualified from the semi-final were performed again and the 50/50 combination of votes of a ten-member jury panel and the results of public televoting determined the winner. The interval act of the show featured performances by Destiny Chukunyere, Eliza Borg, who represented Malta in Junior Eurovision 2025, Baby Lasagna, who represented Croatia in 2024, Miriana Conte, who represented Malta in 2025, and the band Scream Daisy.[15] After the votes from the jury panel and televote were combined, "Bella" performed by Aidan was the winner.[16]
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