The song This Is The Night thundered through the airport’s arrival lounge yesterday as about 300 people sang Malta’s Eurovision tune to welcome home its singer Kurt Calleja and his band.
…I hope they will continue to be an exemplary group and a good example to the youngsters who look up to them
“The support we received was overwhelming… We learnt a lot from this experience and now look forward to reaping what we’ve sown. The Eurovision is a stepping stone we have to use to continue spreading our music throughout Europe,” Mr Calleja said as he looked around at the cheering crowd.
The lounge was filled with relatives, friends and fans of the band that represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Azerbaijan on Saturday.
Malta finished in 21st place out of the 26 finalists with 41 points after making it through Thursday’s semi-finals. On Saturday, 33 out of 42 countries gave Malta no points. But the Eurovision was just the beginning.
Mr Calleja said the band was now working on plans to travel to other countries – such as London, Italy and Turkey – to promote their music. But nothing was 100 per cent confirmed yet. Tomorrow he will be heading off to London to meet the producer of Malta’s song, Dan Perty.
Michigan mathematician Martin O’Leary had predicted that Malta’s song would come in second, after Sweden’s. He yesterday issued an apology on his blog, writing that he did not expect anyone to take the model predictions particularly seriously.
In fact, many hoped Malta would do better than it did. But those who turned up at the airport believed the band had given the contest its best shot and that was what really mattered.
The band’s flight from Istanbul was delayed by half an hour and the crowd was made to wait even longer because Mr Calleja forgot his mobile phone on the plane and had to go back for it.
When he finally walked into the arrivals lounge, he threw signed T-shirts into the crowd and autographed flyers and posters.
Fifteen-year-old Nicole Azzopardi said she believed the band had done really well and made Malta proud.
Ms Azzopardi, who represented Malta in the Junior Eurovision two years ago, said she wanted to show her support.
Other young girls shouted out his name and that of other band members while they displayed posters or held up “welcome” balloons.
A large group of Mr Calleja’s relatives held up a large banner showing the whole band with the words: “Welcome home. Malta is proud of you.”
“What was important was that they put on a good show, which they did,” said Mr Calleja’s uncle, Harold, as he added: “The band attracted lots of young fans and I hope they will continue to be an exemplary group and a good example to the youngsters who look up to them.”