Doctor Feelgood, as Gianluca Bezzina has been nicknamed on social media, will be competing against singers from 24 other countries at the Eurovision final in Sweden tonight.

Malta’s Eurovision hopeful, a recently graduated doctor, told Times of Malta about the moment when his country’s name was called as a finalist during the semi-finals on Thursday: “I never felt so happy in all my life”.

However, in his typical laidback manner, he said he had no high expectations for tonight: “We’re just all set to have fun – it’s great to be on stage once again.”

The qualifying results were tense for thousands of Maltese viewers as Malta’s song Tomorrow was only called out towards the end of the show.

“As a doctor, I can say that my heartbeat was working on overdrive while the results were being read,” said Gianluca, 23.

At one point, he said, he was sure Malta would not be in the qualifying 10.

“All my favourite songs weren’t even chosen, so I had practically given up,” he said.

His concern was disappointing all those people who were involved in the team: “We worked so hard for it.”

Gianluca will be performing in ninth place tonight, after Belarus, in front of a live audience and millions around the world watching from home.

He was satisfied with his and the band’s performance on stage, which was characterised by lots of generous smiles.

Was that the result of tension or happiness?

“Initially a bit of both, but then I was really enjoying myself – it’s such a fantastic experience being on that stage,” he said.

His family – including his mother, father and six siblings who are all in Malmo to support him – were delighted with the result. But there were no after party celebrations for the band: “We decided to head to the hotel for a much-needed rest,” he said.

They woke up early yesterday for a general dress rehearsal, and in the evening they held the performance for the jury.

Tonight’s televoting carries 50 per cent of the weight, with the other half of the votes given by a specially appointed jury in each country. During his press conference after the semi final, Gianluca was asked by members of the foreign media about his visit to a children’s hospital in Malmo during rehearsal week.

“It was great to see the children smile, and even hear them sing my song, I’d love to do it again,” he said.

Anton Attard, CEO of the Public Broadcasting Services, who heads the delegation, described Tomorrow as “one of the better ones”, which contrasts with the rest because of its simplicity.

“All things being equal, I think we should not be placing badly,” Mr Attard said.

Eurovision voting is normally rife with neighbourly voting, a trend that has seen several eastern European countries walk away with the prize in recent years.

Thursday night was also a good night for geeks when the star of Tomorrow’s lyrics – ‘Jeremy who works in IT’ – started trending on Twitter.

Social media was rife with tweets and messages about the happy vibe generated by Tomorrow.

Many commented on Gianluca’s infectious smile, others described him as this year’s “dark horse”. The lyrics went down a treat: “I have a feeling I’ll be singing about risk assessment tomorrow,” wrote a fan.

Hundreds were encouraging people to vote for Malta, including international tenor Joseph Calleja, who tweeted: “Go Gianluca – if there is any justice, you’ll win it.”

Perhaps the one who summed it up best was the Swedish woman who described Gianluca as “Doctor Feelgood” on the BBC Eurovision website and declared it the happiest song in town.

What are the odds of Malta winning?

Although there is are no winning predictions in the offing, the odds for Malta’s Eurovision placing are looking better than those in recent years.

International bookies are placing Gianluca’s Tomorrow in 15th place out of 25 songs. William Hill odds for Malta are at 66/1, while Paddy Power’s stand at 80/1. All betting websites are showing Denmark as the favourite, closely followed by Norway and Ukraine.

High-powered delegation

National Security and PBS Minister Manuel Mallia flew to Sweden yesterday, but this will not be, as he is wont to do, a surprise inspection visit.

Dr Mallia will this morning be meeting Ingrid Deltenre, the Director General of the European Broadcasting Union to discuss the EBU general assembly being held in Malta next month. This evening he will be joining the crowds to watch the Grand final at the Malmo arena.

This year’s Eurovision delegation is rather high-powered and includes former PBS chairman Joe Mizzi and the newly appointed Tonio Portughese.

PBS CEO Anton Attard explained that while he is in charge of the technical aspect of the Eurovision, Mr Mizzi was always in charge of public relations.

“We felt his presence would ensure continuation as well as an opportunity for a handover to Mr Portughese, preparing the ground work for next year,” said Mr Attard.