Watch live tonight at 21:00 CET, the Semi-Final of Malta’s “MESC 2026” begins! Twelve songs will advance to Saturday’s Grand Final. Link to watch the live broadcast – Below!
Tonight at 21:00 CET, “MESC 2026”, will officially begin. By the end of the selection process, Malta’s entry for Eurovision 2026 will be chosen. This evening marks the Semi-Final, where 18 songs will compete for 12 spots in the Grand Final, which will be held this coming Saturday, January 17th, at 21:00 CET.
“MESC 2026” will take place at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali and will be hosted by three presenters: Destiny Chukunyere, Malta’s representative for Eurovision 2020 and 2021, Gaia Cauchi, and Keane Cutajar. The finalists will be selected through a combination of jury votes (50%) and public votes (50%).
Watch the semi-final live from 21:00 to 00:00 CET – click here!
“MESC 2026” Running Order:
- Aidan – “Bella”
- Ema – “Achikuku (Don’t think about it)”
- Chess Galea – “Shout it out”
- Liston Bongailas – “Mela”
- Franklin Calleja – “Guide you home”
- Kelsey Attard – “Perfectly broken”
- Matthew Cilia feat. The AfterParty – “Brutality mentality”
- Mark Anthony Bartolo – “Mumenti sbieħ”
- Denise – “Trophy”
- Kurt Anthony – “On the borderline”
- Rhiannon Micallef – “Hold myself up”
- Stefan Galea – “Pose”
- Matt Blxck – “Ejja lejja ħdejja ‘l hawn (The flute)”
- Adria Twins – “Nerġà nqum”
- Kelsie Borg – “Let a girl breathe”
- Mychael Bartolo Chircop – “My sweet angel”
- Janice Mangion – “Univers”
- Nathan Psaila – “Ganador”
Click on the song title to listen!
Among The Contestants – Many Familiar Names:
-
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”.
-
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.
-
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”.
-
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.
-
Denise – Finished 5th in 2022 with te song “Boy” and reached the same position in 2024 with the song “Mara”.
-
Adria Twins – Finished 10th in 2025 with the song “Qalb ma’ qalb”.
-
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”.
-
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”.
-
Rhiannon Micallef – Finished 11th in 2017 with the song “Fearless” and achieved the same position in 2018 with the song “Beyond Blue Horizons”.
-
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”.
-
Kurt Anthony – Competed in 2025 semi-final with the song “Miegħek biss” but did not qualify to the final.
-
Kelsey Attard – Competed in 2025 with “Love Me Loud” but did not qualify to the final.
-
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.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +972-50-9441919
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.
