Superstar Cliff Richard was greeted with flowers from fans when he arrived in Malta on a three-day visit this afternoon.

He will be named Valletta Cultural Ambassador by mayor Alexei Dingli and will also receive the Palma D’Oro Peace Award of Assisi for his tireless charity work.

The highlight of his visit will be an exclusive dinner with admirers tomorrow when he will celebrate his 53rd anniversary in the music business with a show at the Hotel Excelsior ballroom.

With his 123 singles, Cliff Richard occupied a place in the UK charts for the equivalent of over 20 years.

He might well give some advice to Malta about the Eurovision Song Contest, having participated twice and come close to winning. His best known entry was 'Congratulations'  in 1968, when he came second, missing first place by just one point. Five years later, he came third with  'Power to all our Friends'.