Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

The GO Malta Eurosong 2010 was the national final format developed by PBS to select the Maltese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. The competition consisted of six semi-finals held between 9 December 2009 and 13 January 2010 during the new TVM show L-Isfida (The Challenge), and the final on 20 February 2010. The semi-finals took place at the Audiovision Studios in Hamrun and hosted by Claudette Pace, while the final took place at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre in the nation's capital city of Valletta and hosted by Keith Demicoli and Pauline Agius with backstage commentary and interviews by Owen Bonnici. All shows were broadcast on Television Malta (TVM).[8][9]

The competition consisted of thirty-six songs competing over six semi-finals held weekly between 9 December 2009 and 13 January 2010 where the top twenty entries qualified to compete in the final on 20 February 2010.[10][11] Five international judges evaluated the songs during the semi-finals and each judge had an equal stake in the result. The results of the public televote and SMS vote each had a weighting equal to the votes of a single judge.[12] In the final, the jury and the public televote each had an equal stake in the final result.[13]

Artists and composers were able to submit their entries between 1 and 30 October 2009.[13] Artists and songwriters required to be Maltese or possess Maltese citizenship. Artists were able to submit as many songs as they wished, however, they could only compete with a maximum of one in the semi-finals. 123 entries were received by the broadcaster, and an international jury assessed the songs between 2 and 4 December 2009. The thirty-six songs selected to compete in the semi-finals were announced on 4 December 2009.[14][15]

Among the selected competing artists was former Maltese Eurovision entrant Mike Spiteri who represented Malta in 1995 and Miriam Christine who represented Malta in 1996.[16] The running order for the semi-finals were announced on 4 December 2009.

The first semi-final took place on 9 December 2009. Public televoting was open from the end of the show until 12 December 2009 at 16:30 CET.[17]

The second semi-final took place on 16 December 2009. Public televoting was open from the end of the show until 19 December 2009 at 16:30 CET.[18]

The third semi-final took place on 23 December 2009. Public televoting was open from the end of the show until 26 December 2009 at 16:30 CET.[19]

The fourth semi-final took place on 30 December 2009. Public televoting was open from the end of the show until 2 January 2010 at 16:30 CET.[20]

The fifth semi-final took place on 6 January 2010. Public televoting was open from the end of the show until 9 January 2010 at 16:30 CET.[21]

The sixth semi-final took place on 13 January 2010. Public televoting was open from the end of the show until 16 January 2010 at 16:30 CET.[22]

The final took place on 20 February 2010. The running order for the final was announced on 17 January 2010.[23] The twenty entries that qualified from the semi-finals were performed again and the votes of a five-member jury panel (50%) and the results of public televoting (50%) determined the winner.[24] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show also featured guest performances by 1992 Maltese Eurovision entrant Mary Spiteri, 2008 Armenian Eurovision entrant Sirusho and 1998, 2005 and 2009 Maltese Eurovision entrant Chiara.[25] After the votes from the jury panel and televote were combined, "My Dream" performed by Thea Garrett was the winner.[1][2]

Thea Garrett took part in a wide promotional tour on April, in order to promote her Eurovision entry "My Dream". Her tour will begin on 15 April, where she visited Slovakia, appearing on a national breakfast show and on a state radio station. Afterwards she visited the Netherlands, performing at the "Eurovision in Concert" festival in Zaanstad on 24 April. Afterwards she flew to Belgium, where she performed on the "Studio TVL" show on regional TV channel TV Limburg and at a Eurovision party in Antwerp.[26]

Garrett also recorded a Maltese version of "My Dream", entitled "Ħolma" (Dream).[26]

Meanwhile, as of 24 April, Eurovision commentator Valerie Vella will host "Euromix" on PBS, which will preview the video-clips of the 39 Eurovision entries.[26]

• In the Semi-final 1 Malta came 12th with 45 points: the public awarded Malta 12th place with 40 points and the jury awarded 7th place with 66 points.