Delighted cries and bursts of applause filled the halls of St Vincent de Paul residence for the elderly when Malta Eurovision Song contest winner Gianluca Bezzina arrived at work yesterday morning.

The 23-year-old doctor was greeted with champagne, party poppers and large banners with “Well done, Doctor” splashed across them, all of which had been hurriedly prepared by his colleagues in advance of his arrival.

“I’m even more excited than you are for Eurovision,” one nurse exclaimed, amidst many handshakes and pats on the back.

“We’re thrilled he won,” another nurse said. “Although we all voted for him, we were surprised when he was announced as winner.”

Yet the most surprised person of all remained Gianluca himself.

“It still hasn’t quite sunk in. I’ve been in a daze these past two days – I feel as if I’m floating,” he told The Times, as he thanked well-wishers.

Gianluca’s disposition is as sunny as the song that won. During Saturday’s final, his uplifting song Tomorrow beat15 semi-finalists, including Needing You sung by Swedish Pop Idol winner Kevin Borg, gaining 92 votes from jurors and televoters.

“I was eager to return to work and get back to a routine as it all feels very overwhelming at the moment. I never thought I had the least chance of winning – I entered the festival merely for the fun of it. In fact, I has been planning on going camping Saturday evening.”

Gianluca has been working at St Vincent de Paul for a mere four weeks, as part of the ‘tour of duty’ that every newly graduated doctor has to undertake. That means that for the first two years, he will be working at different hospitals.

He would like to specialise in paediatrics and does not plan to take up singing as a career.

However, he is not a total newcomer. Gianluca is the lead singer of indie band Funk Initiative, which was nominated for 2011’s Bay Music Awards and Malta Music Awards. He was coaxed to submit Tomorrow for the Malta Song Contest by the song’s co-writers and composers Boris Cezek and Dean Muscat.

Despite never having taken singing classes, he got tips from his elder sister Dorothy, who was also a participant in the contest.

How would he describe Tomorrow? “It’s a feel-good summer song. Our aim was to transmit positivity on stage. I always had a very relaxed take to the contest – in fact, I put my outfit together the same week the festival was held!”

He stopped to greet St Vincent de Paul resident Maria Carmen Vella, whom one nurse jokingly called “Gianluca’s canvasser”.

On her motorised wheelchair, the 60-year-old had manoeuvred through the wards, clutching a newspaper article featuring Gianluca, and coaxed residents and their families to vote for him.

“He deserved to win. He’s such a lovely person and a wonderful doctor,” she told The Times.

Watching Max, the resident dog used in animal-assisted therapy, jumping up and down in glee, it seems animals and humans agree.

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