Beauty queen, veteran among finalists

A former beauty queen, a veteran making his comeback, a sleek Blues tune and a whole lot of ballads are all in the running to represent Malta at this year's Eurovision song contest.

There are no former winners among the 20 finalists who yesterday found out the order in which they will be singing during the Eurosong festival on February 20.

"We are looking for a song that looks good, sounds good and is catchy enough to be remembered and liked in just three minutes on stage," executive producer Reuben Zammit said.

He pointed out that Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) - which for the second year will be organising the event - was investing more than ever in this year's production.

The stage will be different and will include imaginative catwalks. There will be lots of cameras, raising the visual standard closer to that of the actual Eurovision. PBS will be working with all the acts as from now in order to ensure a good final product and no last-minute hiccups.

"We are going to have a three-minute show for each song," he promised.

Singers were yesterday warned not to break the rules by carrying out self-promotion without seeking permission. The person in charge of administration, Joe Dimech, advised against any animosity or exaggerated pique.

The 20 songs to reach the final were shortlisted from 36 after they were all performed on the TVM programme Sfida for a jury and the public who could vote for their favourites. Former winners Miriam Christine and Mike Spiteri did not make it to the final and nor did a number of past participants like J. Anvil, Raquela, Rosman Pace and Baklava.

Names of finalists that stand out include: Foxy Federation (a female trio that includes former Miss Malta Claudia Calleja), Lawrence Gray, who returned to the contest after a long absence, and regulars Claudia Faniello, Pamela, Eleanor Cassar and Klinsmann.

The final song will be chosen through a 50/50 voting mix of foreign jurors and public televoting.

This year there will be no super finalists as was done in the last edition and there will also be no formal prize giving for second and third place as the votes will be announced in real time as is done in the actual Eurovision.

"We are going to give you as much exposure as possible," PBS chairman Clare Thake Vassallo said, adding that, during the televoting, any past mishaps or delays from telephony companies would not be repeated.

She said she considered last year's Eurovision a success for Malta because its representative reached the final and got to perform to millions of television viewers around the world.

"Mostly, we are going to build on last year's experience," she said.