Every year, we end up feeling the same. Every year, we end up writing the same leading article. When are we going to stop taking ourselves and the Eurovision Song Contest so seriously?

Every year, we try a different formula in a bid to try and win this contest which we all seem to take so ridiculously seriously. Has it not become clear to anyone that it is rarely about the song, and more about the act? Just look at this year’s winner. A Drag Queen from Austria sporting a beard that would make Brutus out of Popeye jealous.

Other winners that have take then prize home have often feature outlandish costumes – Lordi, the Finnish monster band had it down to a tee. Incidentally, the song was absolute rubbish. Although it is a calendar event in Malta, we truly should consider the amount of time, money and effort that goes into our participation. We have had a couple of second place finishes through Chiara and Ira Losco, but it is high time that a proper policy is put in place.

Aside from the money that is spent in putting together songs and then choosing one, there is the added cost, as featured on our front page today, of the supporting delegation that travels up with the band or artist which makes it to the semis and the final.

Aside from all this, have we ever thought about the gargantuan cost that would quite possibly cripple our economy and we did win, and subsequently host the next year’s edition? It would cost hundreds of millions! Hundreds of millions that we don’t even have and couldn’t ever hope to have.

This year’s Maltese entry did not fare very well at all. We placed 23 out of a total of 26 participants in the final and we only managed to muster a paltry 31 points. So, at the end of the day, when the bill has to be paid, is it all worth it?

The answer surely has to be a resounding no. What do we even get out of taking part? We don’t get much exposure and we are certainly not gaining any exposure of our country. It is simply not worth it.

It is true that the contest offers an opportunity for Maltese artists to gain some exposure and to have the chance to perform before a massive audience... but that does not mean that it is worth the thousands of euros that we spend every year just to take part in this sham. That money could be better spent elsewhere, and it could be funnelled into a fund to help Maltese artists build a career, instead of blowing it on a yearly extravaganza to nowhere.