Fabrizio Faniello has earned the right to represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Greece in May. It will be the second time that the singer will be flying the Maltese flag at such an event after he also won the 2001 competition.

We wish Fabrizio all the best of luck. He has a tough challenge to obtain the excellent position obtained by Chiara and Ira Losco, who both placed second at the Eurovision in recent years.

The next three months will be rather hectic for him, as the promotion machinery steps up a gear to push his song and gain as much support in those countries that are taking part and that will be voting on the big night.

But the question that keeps coming up every year is whether Malta should give so much importance to the Eurovision Song Contest, especially when a considerable amount of money is spent to organise the local event to select the Maltese song and even more so when it comes to promoting it abroad in the run-up to the ESC.

Admittedly, as a country, we have had little success in international competitions, and therefore we are all pleased that in this particular event we have obtained some form of success. When one considers other results obtained, in sport for example, the Eurovision does make us feel proud that a small nation like ours is capable of doing so well in the international arena. One other positive point is that Malta’s participation in the ESC is one of the few moments that unite the country.

But should we make so much fuss about it? Should we have such a big build-up for the local festival, with so many TV programmes before and after the event? (This year, we even had the not-so-aptly named “Dopo Festival”, when we do have a Maltese word for “dopo” and it should have been used instead). Should we spend the next three months hearing about Faniello’s preparations for the ESC and listening to the song over and over again on radio stations? Should Malta practically come to a standstill when the two events – the local selection process and the ESC itself – are being held? (Restaurants – at least those not equipped with big screens – reported slow business last Saturday). Should we spend so much money in the promotion of a song, and see so little return for it?

And the answer is an emphatic “no”.

Therefore, we should not overdo it, as we are in fact doing year in, year out. What is worse is that rather than losing its importance, the festival seems to grow from year to year. It is as if the country’s livelihood depends on the notes and lyrics of a three-minute song.

Malta gets the exposure all the other countries get irrespective of how much money we spend to market the song. There are many countries that give so little importance to the ESC, and yet they are there all the same, getting the same exposure yet spending quite a lot less.

There are those who argue that by promoting Malta’s song we are in effect promoting Malta. This is certainly not the case.

Yes, the video that accompanies the presentation does show some of Malta’s best tourist sites and it is true that the ESC is watched by millions across Europe. But on the other hand, we cannot say that this is helping to attract thousands of more tourists to the islands. So it would perhaps be better to spend the money to promote Malta in a different way.

As for the fuss that surrounds the festivals year- in, year-out – well – we should all realise that this is, after all, only a musical event, and there are many who argue against that too.