The hosts for Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2026 have been officially announced by PBS. The trio set to guide viewers through the competition are Keane Cutajar, Destiny Chukunyere and Gaia Cauchi.
Who are the presenters?
Keane Cutajar is known locally as a television presenter, while Destiny and Gaia bring Eurovision pedigree to the stage: Destiny won Junior Eurovision 2015 and later represented Malta at Eurovision in both 2020 and 2021. Gaia Cauchi, on the other hand, is a Junior Eurovision winner from 2013, bringing her experience from Malta’s path to victory at that contest.
PBS has also unveiled the theme for the 2026 contest — “L-ewwel lejla li ħabbejt” (“You never forget your first”) — a concept designed to celebrate the emotional power of music and the unforgettable magic of the Eurovision Song Contest.
These are the 18 acts in contention at MESC 2026
The 18 songs competing this year will be narrowed down for the final, but the exact number has not been revealed. The final of the 2025 edition of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest is set to take place on the 17th of January; with the semi-final set to take place on the 15th.
Snippets of the songs have also been released, which can be listened to below:
What is the Malta Eurovision Song Contest?
Whilst they have used selection competitions before, such as Mużika Malta and X Factor Malta, Malta Eurovision Song Contest has been the method to pick Malta’s entry for the contest since 2022, but has consistently made changes to the format in each of the three years it has been held. The 2024 format consisted of four semi-final shows, branded as “XOW” which took place in October and November 2023, months before the Final in February. Those who progressed to the final were announced at the same time, and without a set amount qualifying from each semi, it had a unique distinction of every song from the third show failing to progress. The final is a combination of Jury (7/9 vote share) and Televote (2/9 vote share). Only one MESC winner is yet to reach the Eurovision Grand Final.
Malta’s Eurovision journey
Malta made its Eurovision debut in 1971, with Joe Grech performing “Marija I-Maltija” (Maria the Maltese Lass), finishing 18th with 52 points. Malta did not participate in Eurovision from 1975 until 1991, when they returned with the song “Could It Be” by Paul Giordimaina and Georgina, finishing 12th with 32 points. Since then, Malta has been at every Eurovision and finished in the top 10 an impressive 12 times. Their best result is second place, which they’ve achieved twice. The first time was in 2002, when Ira Losco sang “7th Wonder,” and the second time in 2005 with Chiara’s “Angel.”
Miriana Conte represented Malta in 2025 with her song “Serving”, previously known as “Kant”. Competing in the second semi-final, Malta qualified – ending their three-year-long non-qualification streak. Miriana would eventually finish in 17th place, earning a total of 91 points. Of these, 83 came from the juries, while just 8 came from televoters.
What do you think of this year’s presenters? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Eurovision 2026!
News Source: PBS
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