Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "I Do" written by Aldo Spiteri and Fabrizio Faniello. The song was performed by Fabrizio Faniello, who had previously represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in the 2001 edition where he achieved ninth place with the song "Another Summer Night". The Maltese entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece was selected through the national final Malta Song for Europe 2006, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of two phases: Opportunity 2 and Malta Song for Europe 2006. In the final of Malta Song for Europe 2006, held on 4 February 2006, "I Do" performed by Fabrizio Faniello emerged as the winning entry after gaining the most votes from a public televote with 7,729 votes.

As one of the ten highest placed finishers in 2005, Malta automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing during the show in position 7, Malta placed twenty-fourth (last) out of the 24 participating countries with 1 point.

Background
Prior to the 2006 Contest, Malta had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eighteen 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 the 2005 contest with the song "Angel" performed by Chiara.

For the 2006 Contest, the Maltese national broadcaster, Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), broadcast the event within Malta and organised the selection process for the nation's entry. PBS confirmed their intentions to participate at it on 18 August 2005. Malta selected their entry consistently through a national final procedure, a method that was continued for their 2006 participation.

Opportunity 2
Opportunity 2 was the first phase of the national final format developed by PBS to select the Maltese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. Artists that have never competed in Malta Song for Europe were able to submit their entries for the competition between 18 August 2005 and 14 September 2005. Thirty-six songs were chosen to compete in the semi-final which consisted of nine shows between 8 October 2005 and 17 December 2005 with four songs being presented in each show. Ten entries qualified to compete in the final on 7 January 2006 where two songs, as decided by a public televote, qualified for Malta Song for Europe 2006. All shows were broadcast during the programme Showtime ma' Aceline on Television Malta (TVM), hosted by Moira Delia and Manuel Xuereb.

Malta Song for Europe 2006
Malta Song for Europe 2006 was the second phase of the national final format developed by PBS to select the Maltese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The competition was held on 4 February 2006 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in the nation's capital city of Valletta. The show was hosted by Eileen Montesin, Josef Bonello and Lou Bondi and broadcast on Television Malta (TVM) as well as on the website di-ve.com.

Competing entries
Artists and composers were able to submit their entries between 30 October 2005 and 5 December 2005. Songwriters from any nationality were able to submit songs as long as entry applications from foreign songwriters were eligible in their country. Artists were required to be Maltese or possess Maltese citizenship and could submit as many songs as they wished, however, they could only compete with a maximum of one in the competition. 213 entries were received by the broadcaster. On 9 December 2005, PBS announced a shortlist of 35 entries that had progressed through the selection process. The sixteen songs selected to compete in the final were announced on 17 December 2006. Among the selected competing artists were former Maltese Eurovision entrants Paul Giordimaina who represented Malta in the 1991 contest, and Fabrizio Faniello who represented Malta in the 2001 contest.

On 22 December 2005, "Turn Another Page", written by Paul Giordimaina and Fleur Balzan and to have been performed by Pamela, was withdrawn from the competition and replaced with the song "Stronger" performed by Christian Arding. Anabelle Debono and Claudia Faniello replaced Nadine Axisa and Olivia Lewis, both of them which had been selected with two songs each, as the performers of the songs "Amazing" and "High Alert", respectively.

Final
The final took place on 4 February 2006. Eighteen entries competed and the winner was determined solely by a public televote. The interval act of the show featured performances by former Maltese Eurovision entrants Georgina Abela (1991), William Mangion (1993), Mike Spiteri (1995), Claudette Pace (2000) and Chiara (1998, 2005), Lou Bondi and the local acts Alex Manché and Ray Calleja. After the results of the public televote were announced, "I Do" performed by Fabrizio Faniello was the winner.

At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 took place at the Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece and consisted of a semi-final on 18 May and the final of 20 May 2006. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2005 contest are required to qualify from the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. As one of the ten highest placed finishers in the 2006 contest, Malta automatically qualified to compete in the final. In addition to their participation in the final, Malta is also required to broadcast and vote in the semi-final. On 21 March 2006, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Malta was set to perform in position 7 during the final, following the entry from Spain and before the entry from Germany. Malta placed twenty-fourth (last) in the final, scoring 1 point.

The semi-final and the final were broadcast in Malta on TVM with commentary by Eileen Montesin. The Maltese spokesperson, who announced the Maltese votes during the final, was Moira Delia.

Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Malta and awarded by Malta in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Sweden in the semi-final and to Switzerland in the final of the contest.