Wikipedia:WikiProject Eurovision/sandbox/2

At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 took place at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden and consisted of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May, and the final of 14 May 2016. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Malta was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 10 May 2016, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.

Once all the competing songs for the 2016 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Malta was set to perform last in position 18, following the entry from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Malta on TVM with commentary by disc jockey Arthur Caruana. The Maltese spokesperson, who announced the top 12 Points awarded by the Maltese jury during the final, was actor Ben Camille.

Semi-final
Ira Losco took part in technical rehearsals on 3 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May. This included the jury show on 9 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. On the day of the first semi-final, Malta was considered by bookmakers to be the second most likely country to advance into the final.

The Maltese performance featured Ira Losco wearing a black and gold rhinestone dress, designed by Australian designer Alex Zabotto-Bentley, and performing together with one dancer. The performance began with the LED screen floor projecting Ira Losco's face followed by Losco emerging on stage with the dancer performing choreographed movements. The performance was originally to have featured full 360 degree projection mapping on Losco's dress accomplished by real-time tracking technology; however, during the rehearsals, the Maltese delegation opted not to use the technology in the broadcast performance. The creative director for the Maltese performance was Stephane Boko. Ira Losco was joined by four off-stage backing vocalists: Pamela Bezzina, Anna Azzopardi, Lars Säfsund and Molly Pettersson Hammar. The dancer featured during the performance was Skorpion, who also appeared in the music video for "Walk on Water".

At the end of the show, Malta was announced as having finished in the top 10 and consequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Malta placed third in the semi-final, receiving a total of 209 points: 54 points from the televoting and 155 points from the juries.

Final
Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Malta was drawn to compete in the second half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Malta was subsequently placed to perform in position 22, following the entry from Ukraine and before the entry from Georgia. On the day of the grand final, bookmakers considered Malta the seventh most likely country to win the competition.

Ira Losco once again took part in dress rehearsals on 13 and 14 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Ira Losco performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 14 May. Malta placed twelfth in the final, scoring 153 points: 16 points from the televoting and 137 points from the juries.

Voting
Voting during the three shows was conducted under a new system that involved each country now awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Malta and awarded by Malta in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Detailed voting results
The following five members comprised the Maltese jury:
 * Matthew Merceica – Chairperson – songwriter, vocal coach
 * Maria Abdilla – vocal coach, music teacher
 * Peter Borg – guitarist, songwriter, producer, musician
 * Angie Laus – TV presenter, TV producer
 * Ismael Portelli – director, creative director