The Maltese national broadcaster PBS unveiled the 18 artists competing in “MESC 2026”. The Maltese entry for Eurovision 2026 will be chosen on January 17th.
The Maltese national broadcaster PBS has officially announced the list of 18 contestants and songs competing in “MESC 2026”, for Eurovision 2026, which will be held in Vienna, Austria. The 18 competing acts will perform in a single semi-final on Thursday, January 15th, 2026. Voting will be evenly divided between the judges and the public. The 12 best songs will advance to the final, scheduled for Saturday, January 17th, 2026.
“MESC 2026” List of Contestants:
- Franklin Calleja – “Guide you home”
- Chess Galea – “Shout it out”
- Liston Bongailas – “Mela”
- Kurt Anthony – “On the borderline”
- Stefan Galea – “Pose”
- Ema – “Achikuku (Don’t think about it)”
- Kelsey Attard – “Perfectly broken”
- Adria Twins – “Nerġà nqum”
- Kelsie Borg – “Let a girl breathe”
- Matthew Cilia – “Brutality mentality”
- Matt Blxck – “Ejja lejja ħdejja ‘l hawn (The flute)”
- Rhiannon Micallef – “Hold myself up”
- Mychael Bartolo Chircop – “My sweet angel”
- Aidan – “Bella”
- Denise – “Trophy”
- Nathan Psaila – “Ganador”
- Mark Anthony Bartolo – “Mumenti sbieħ”
- Janice Mangion – “Univers”
Listen to a snippet from each contestant here
Among The Contestants – Many Familiar Names:
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Matt Blxck – Finished 7th place in 2018 (under the name Matthew Anthony) with the song “Call 2morrow”, and again 7th in 2022 with the song “Come Around”, 3rd in 2023 with the song “Up.”, and 2nd in 2024 with the song “Banana”.
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Aidan – Placed 4th in 2018 with the song “Dai Laga”, 2nd in 2022 with the song “Ritmu”, and was disqualified in 2023 after the quarter-finals for breaching contest rules.
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Janice Mangion – Competed in the 2012 semi-final with the song “While Her Eyes Still Glow”, finished 2nd in 2017 with the song “Kewkba”, and finished 16th in 2022 with the song “Army”.
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Franklin Calleja – Participated in 2013 with the song “Let Your Heart Talk”, placed 7th in 2014 with the song “Love Will Take Me Home”, 5th in 2015 with the song “Still Here”, 3rd in 2016 with the song “Little Love”, 5th in 2017 with the song “Follow Me”, competed in “X Factor” in 2019, and returned in 2024 with the song “Puppet” but didn’t qualify for the final.
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Denise – Finished 5th in 2022 with te song “Boy” and reached the same position in 2024 with the song “Mara”.
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Adria Twins – Finished 10th in 2025 with the song “Qalb ma’ qalb”.
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Nathan Psaila – Finished 11th in 2023 with the song “Creeping Walls”, 10th in 2024 with the song “Ghost”, and 16th and last in 2025 with the song “Concrete”.
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Mark Anthony Bartolo – Finished 11th in 2022 with the song “Serenity”, did not qualify in 2023 with the song “Tears”, and 2024 with the song “Condition or Fiction”, but finished 11th in 2025 with the song “Hideaway”.
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Rhiannon Micallef – Finished 11th in 2017 with the song “Fearless” and achieved the same position in 2018 with the song “Beyond Blue Horizons”.
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Stefan Galea – Competed in the 2016 semi-final with the song “Light Up My Life” but didn’t qualify, later finished 16th, in 2023 with the song “Heartbreaker”.
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Kurt Anthony – Competed in 2025 semi-final with the song “Miegħek biss” but did not qualify to the final.
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Kelsey Attard – Competed in 2025 with “Love Me Loud” but did not qualify to the final.
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Matthew Cilia – Competed in 2025 with “Control” but also did not qualify to the final.
“MESC 2026” Dates:
- Semi-final – Thursday, January 15th, 2026.
- Grand final – Saturday, January 17th, 2026.
Malta in Eurovision 2025
“Serving” is the title of the song performed by Miriana Conte, who represented Malta at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. Malta qualified for the final by placing ninth in the semi-final with 53 points, and finished 17th in the grand final with 91 points – 83 from the juries and only 8 from the televote.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Malta’s 38th participation in Eurovision. Malta joined the competition in 1971 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2002 and Eurovision 2005 after finishing second twice.
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Ilay Gaist is a leading Israeli content creator and writer specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. He is a well-known commentator with extensive expertise in the contest’s history, rules, and dynamics. His passion for Eurovision drives him to deliver rich, professional, and innovative content to his audience.
Ilay holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and has a multilingual background. He also engages in cultural research, with a particular focus on global culinary traditions and the evolution of local cuisines around the world.
