1. It’s been 45 years since Malta’s debut with "Marija il-Maltija’ at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971 in Dublin. And we’re still waiting for our first win… at least Portugal have been waiting longer!
2. Renato pulled us off the bottom spot in 1975. I suppose we’ll have to forgive him for the funky sleeves!
3. It’s been 25 years since Malta re-entered the contest after a 16 year break. And "Could it be’ put us in the top 10 for the first time garnering 106 points.
4. One year later Mary Spiteri even managed a top 3 spot!
5. It’s been 20 years since Miriam Christine shocked us with her mini skirt. Her backing vocals wore green, white and red to represent the Italian flag, a tribute to the Italian designer who had provided the outfits.
6. 18 years ago Macedonia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in Birmingham, and deprived us of our win in one of the tightest scoreboards ever. 1998 saw Israel’s Diva win the contest. It was the first time a transsexual artist won the contest, and the first time ever that the winning song had not used any live music.
7. It’s been 16 years since any Maltese was uttered on a Eurovision Stage. “Dejjem ridtek, Dejjem xtaqtek, Lilek ħabbejt”
8. It’s been 14 years since twenty-year-old Ira last represented Malta in Estonia. Despite the years, some of us cannot forget her charm on stage.
9. It’s been 10 years since Albania saved us from the dreaded nul points in 2006 when Fabrizio’s "I do’ scored 1 point in Greece.
10. And after 7 years of Eurovision disaster for Malta, the smiling doctor managed to bring back some enthusiasm by placing 8th in 2013
Can Ira bring it home this year? The Third Eye would like to wish her the best of luck. Make sure to stay tuned for Eurovision updates as we draw closer to the 61st Edition in Stockholm.
