Malta 2018: National Selection Details Released!

With Portugal breaking their 53 year run of participation without a win, the country now holding the record for longest participation without a win is Malta, who is also the most successful nation without a win. Could 2018 be the year Malta breaks this streak? Well the first step has been taken, which is actual confirmation that they will be participating at the contest.

As with previous years, Malta will be continuing with the national final format, which is Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The contest is set to be held in early 2018, although the processes building up to the televised national final have already begun.

Songs can now be submitted to the PBS website, with a non-refundable 150 Euro submission fee for each entry. The submissions must not have been released commercially before the 1^st of November this year, but if the song has been publicly available through another format, it is up to the discretion of PBS to decide whether it is eligible.

The performers themselves have to be Maltese or dual nationality, however the songwriters can be of any nationality, which leaves it open for talented songwriters from abroad to work with a Maltese artist – could this be the winning combination?

The songs must be submitted by September 1^st, and from there, the elimination process begins! The first stage consists of a panel of judges, who will listen to the studio versions of all the songs that are submitted. The judges can also request to hear the artists sing without playback as well, which is an extra measure to ensure they’re getting only the best vocalists for Eurovision!

Once the songs are all heard in the first round of judging, the best 60 songs will be shortlisted. From there, local and international juries will cut that list down to 30, and then again to the 16 who will then participate in the televised national final. We won’t have to wait too long to find out who will be participating, with the finalists being announced in October or thereabouts.

Which artists would you love to see return to the Maltese national final?

Here’s Malta’s 2017 Eurovision performance by Claudio Faniello, who unfortunately failed to qualify for the final.