A total of 16 songs will be featured in a four-edition programme on NET Television in the run up to the Song for Europe Festival in February.

The programmes will be broadcast on Friday, 5 January at 8.30pm and will run for the next three consecutive Fridays throughout the month. All four programmes will be presented by former Eurovision Song Contest participant Claudette Pace.

The first two programmes were recorded yesterday in the theatre of the Le Meridien Phoenicia Hotel in St Julian’s. The first programme featured songs by Tarcisio Barbara, who sang his song Places To Go, Julia Grima who sang her song Ice Queen, Annabelle Debono with her song Night-Wish and Kevin Borg, who sang Whenever.

Another four singers performed during the recording of the second programme. These were Isabelle Zammit, with her song My Love, Mauro, who sang Unite, Daniela Delicata with her song Little Islands in your Heart and finally Claudia Faniello, who sang her song in the Maltese language, L-Imhabba Ghamja (Love is Blind).

In an interview for a feature that will be broadcast during the first programme, a number of foreign judges, who listened to a total of 228 entries, said that this year there are “some extremely good songs”. They said it was wonderful how much talent there was on such a small island as Malta.