Year after year, there is so much hype surrounding Malta’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, which brings together European nations – and others, too – under one roof in what is supposedly a festival of music.

The country spends so much money in, first, organising the local competition to pick the song that will represent us, and then so much more money to promote it across the European states where voting will take place in an attempt to win people’s preferences.

So many times there is disappointment as Malta’s entry does not even make it to the final. It happened again this year too, when The Busker – the group chosen by Malta – failed to make it with their song “Dance (Our own party)”. When we do make it to the final night, then, collectively speaking we expect to win. This has never happened, and there are doubts that it ever will.

Ever since the format of the competition has changed, it has become more difficult. There was a time when Europe was made up of fewer countries, which meant that Malta automatically qualified for the big day. But since the geography of the continent changed as countries split up into more nations, it was decided that semi-finals are held to reduce the number of participants on the final night. Many times, this led Malta not to qualify for the final. The sad thing is that we treat elimination, or a bad placing in the final (when we arrive to that stage) as a national tragedy.

And so, year after year, we have a discussion on the way forward. We blame the fact that we do not have “neighbours” who vote for us. We blame the fact that the Maltese community abroad – which we expect to vote for Malta – is too small to make much of an impact in the voting process. Sometimes we have blamed the “authorities” for not promoting the song as much as it should have been. There are them some who suggest that we should no longer participate.

Since social media has become part of our lives, this discussion has spread more and more, and on the days leading up to the event, and when it eventually happens, we are inundated with comments and thoughts. Many ministers and other politicians also seem to find the time to post something on the event.  And, when we’re eliminated as happened this year, there is a collective disappointment that “in spite of a splendid performance”, Malta did not make it.

It’s as if we expect to be in the final as a right.

It’s time that we take the Eurovision Song Contest much less seriously than we do. It’s just an annual event which brings European countries together in the name of music – although, one must say, year after year the level of this so-called music drops vertiginously – and should be treated as such.

The costs should be reduced, and it would be good to see a better use of these funds on other cultural projects that might not give Malta the same exposure as the Eurovision does, but which are certainly more worth it.