Malta’s representative in this year’s Eurovision song contest, Gianluca Bezzina who flew back to Malta from Malmo in Sweden this afternoon was given a hero’s welcome. Following his respectable result when he finished in eighth place, which is Malta’s best placing since 2005, scores of people turned up at the arrivals’ hall at Malta International Airport to express as a show of appreciation. Some of them were carrying placards while a number of teenagers thanked their ‘hero’ through spontaneous interpretations of his song ‘Tomorrow’.
At times the crowd’s enthusiasm went overboard, with MIA staff and members of the police having to intervene to keep order with a number of admirers literally ambushing the singer. With no arrangements whatsoever for the media to be granted some form of access to Malta’s representative, it was literally survival of the fittest as it was obvious it would be an ordeal trying to approach him with pushing and shoving the order of the day.
The young singer thanked all those present for their support and expressed his gratitude to the Maltese public, while proceeding to sign autographs and pose for photos with those lucky enough to come close to him.
In a statement the Minister for National Security and Home Affairs Manuel Mallia who was also in Sweden personally congratulated Gianluca Bezzina and his band for this result
Gianluca Bezzina who on Saturday garnered 120 points, had eased through the semi-final finishing in fourth place, with ten places up for grabs.
Dr Mallia said that part of the credit also goes to the Maltese delegation led by PBS Chairman Tonio Portughese the station’s CEO Anton Attard, as well as the Maltese public.
The PN also congratulated the young singer for his success. The Shadow Minister for Culture Francis Zammit Dimech who was also present at the airport remarked that this event is a unique opportunity to showcase Maltese talent. He added that this result came just hours after Valletta was confirmed as European Cultural Capital for 2018. Dr Zammit Dimech said that this bodes well to promote Malta abroad. The PL also congratulated Gianluca Bezzina for his success.
This year’s edition was won by Denmark's Emmelie de Forest with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune ‘Only Teardrops’ despite tough competition from spectacular stage shows by performers from Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
Juries and television viewers across Europe awarded the barefoot, hippie for the catchy love song that is driven by her deep, Shakira-like voice. She received a total of 281 points in the glitzy music battle, which also featured a bizarre opera pop number from Romania, the comeback of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ star Bonnie Tyler and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.
The televised extravaganza, with an audience of 125 million worldwide, is now in its 58th year. Once again without fail, it produced a mix of bubble-gum pop songs, somber ballads, bagpipes, accordions and bizarrely kitsch musical productions.
In an opening video, soccer great Zlatan Ibrahimovic welcomed the viewers to the competition in his hometown Malmo, in southern Sweden. The Nordic country hosted the event because its contestant Loreen won last year with ‘Euphoria’.
This year's event also saw the return to the international stage of two seasoned European stars. ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ singer Bonnie Tyler represented Britain with the sleepy love ballad ‘Believe In Me,’ while Anouk, whose song ‘Nobody's Wife" was a big hit in Europe in the 1990s, performed the song ‘Birds’ for The Netherlands. Tyler ended in 19th place, while Anouk finished in the 9th spot.
Finland's Krista Siegfrid provided this year's controversy, ending her bouncy pop number ‘Marry Me’ with a girl-on-girl kiss that some interpreted as a stance promoting gay marriage. While it did not raise eyebrows in most parts of Western Europe — where Eurovision has long been a bastion of gay culture — the act jarred sensitivities in parts of eastern and southern Europe. Her cheesy tune didn't win the hearts of Europeans, however, and she ended up third to last with only 13 points.
Two semi-finals this week had whittled down the contestants from 40 to 26. The voting is shared equally between professional juries in all participating countries and viewers using their telephones to pick their favourites.
(Additional reporting by AP)