Malta has confirmed their participation for the 2023 contest this morning, and announced that the Malta Eurovision Song Contest will serve as their selection method for next year’s contest. Fans will recall that PBS revived MESC last year after they turned to X-Factor: Malta to select their 2019 and 2020-2021 entrants for Eurovision.
The 2023 national final will take place over six weeks, featuring four quarterfinals, a semi-final, and the grand final on February 11th. PBS confirmed that a total of 40 songs will be selected from the online submission pool by an appointed jury, and will then be equally divided into the quartfinals in groups of 10. A total of 6 songs will advance to the semi-final round, with the top 16 advancing to the final night. Each show will feature a jury and public televote structure to determine the qualifiers and eventual winner.
The national final dates are as follows:
- Quarterfinal One – January 13
- Quarterfinal Two – January 20
- Quarterfinal Three – January 27
- Quarterfinal Four – February 3
- Semi-Final – February 9
- Grand Final – February 11
Song selection process for MESC 2023
The submission window for MESC 2023 will run from October 17th to October 31st, and can be submitted online via the official MESC website. The official rules state that authors and composers are allowed to be of any nationality, but the artist or lead artist in the case of a group must be of Maltese nationality or a dual citizenship holder. There is no cap on how many submissions can be sent in by an artist or composer, only one song per artist will be allowed in the quarterfinals.
PBS also revealed that the winner of the previous year’s MESC cannot compete in the national final – meaning that Emma Muscat will not be able to submit any entries. Emma placed 16th in her semi-final in Turin, earning only 47 points with her song “I Am What I Am”.
What do #YOU think about the new MESC structure for 2023? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
