Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016
| Eurovision Song Contest 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |
 Malta
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| National selection | ||||
| Selection process |
Artist: Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Song: Internal Selection |
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| Selection date(s) |
Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016: Semi-final 22 January 2016 Final 23 January 2016 Song Selection: 17 March 2016 |
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| Selected entrant | Ira Losco | |||
| Selected song | "Walk on Water" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Qualified (3rd, 209 points) | |||
| Final result | 12th, 153 points | |||
| Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Walk on Water" written by Lisa Desmond, Tim Larsson, Tobias Lundgren, Molly Pettersson Hammar and Ira Losco. The song was performed by Ira Losco, who had previously represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002 where she achieved second place with the song "7th Wonder".
The Maltese entry for the 2016 contest in , Sweden was initially selected through the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a semi-final round and a final, held on 22 and 23 January 2016, respectively, where "Chameleon" performed by Ira Losco eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a five-member jury and a public televote. The rules of the Maltese national selection allowed for the winning artist to change the winning song either partially or entirely with the consent of the winning composers. In February 2016, PBS announced that a jury panel consisting of international and local experts would determine the song Ira Losco would ultimately perform at the Eurovision Song Contest from a selection of ten songs, including a revamped version of "Chameleon". On 14 March 2016, PBS announced that Ira Losco would perform the song "Walk on Water" in Stockholm; the song was released to the public on 17 March.
Malta was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2016. Performing as the closing entry during the show in position 18, "Walk on Water" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 14 May. It was later revealed that Malta placed third out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 209 points. In the final, Malta performed in position 22 and placed twelfth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 153 points.
Prior to the 2016 Contest, Malta had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-eight times since its first entry in 1971. Malta briefly competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1970s before withdrawing for sixteen years. The country had, to this point, competed in every contest since returning in 1991. Malta's best placing in the contest thus far was second, which it achieved on two occasions: in 2002 with the song "7th Wonder" performed by Ira Losco and in 2005 with the song "Angel" performed by Chiara. In 2015, Malta failed to qualify to the final with the song "Warrior" performed by Amber.
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