Maltese national broadcaster PBS announced the disqualification of a contestant from the Eurovision pre-selection due to format rule violations.
The Maltese national broadcaster PBS revealed about a week ago during a special broadcast the 24 contestants and song titles that would compete in Malta’s Eurovision pre-selection, along with 10-second snippets of their songs. Now, it has been announced that one of the contestants has been disqualified from the pre-selection and will not be able to perform her song in the competition, after it was discovered that the song was released to the public before the allowed date for pre-selection songs.
Reason for Disqualification
PBS made the decision to officially disqualify contestant Alexandra Alden from the Eurovision pre-selection after her song “Magnolia” was released to the public before the permitted date. This decision was made following a violation of section 3.3.1 of the competition rules, which states that no work (lyrics and music) may be published before November 30th.
Previous Disqualification Incident
This is not the first time a disqualification decision has been made in Malta’s Eurovision pre-selection. In 2023, the 2022 runner-up Aidan submitted his song “Regina” to the pre-selection and was disqualified by the Maltese national broadcaster after it was discovered that he had conducted an advertising campaign for the song on social media.
Ensuring Compliance with Competition Rules
After announcing the 24 pre-selection contestants and releasing song snippets, PBS received information that the contestant’s song had been published before the set date. The national broadcaster stated that after a thorough investigation and fact-checking, the decision was made to ensure full compliance with the competition rules.
A total of 24 songs will compete in the pre-selection for the opportunity to represent Malta. Each semi-final will feature 12 songs, with 8 songs from each advancing to the final. The final, to be held on February 8, 2025, will ultimately include 16 finalists. Performances in both the semi-finals and the final will be live.
Maltese Eurovision Pre-Selection Dates
The dates for the Maltese Eurovision pre-selection are as follows:
- Semi-final 1 – February 4, 2025
- Semi-final 2 – February 6, 2025
- Grand Final – February 8, 2025
Malta in Eurovision 2024
“Loop” is the name of the song performed by singer Sarah Bonnici, who was chosen to represent Malta after winning the Maltese national selection. Malta did not qualify for the final, finishing 16th and last in the second semi-final with 13 points.
This is the second consecutive time Malta has finished last in the semi-final stage, and the fifth time overall since joining the competition in 1971. Additionally, Malta fails to qualify for the final for the third consecutive time, a new negative record since the semi-final system began in 2004.
Source: TVMNEWS
Eurovision 2025: This will be Malta’s 37th participation in Eurovision. Malta joined the competition in 1971 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2002 and Eurovision 2005 after finishing second twice.
