Ahead of the final taking place tomorrow, the 15th of January, the running order for the Malta Eurovision Song Contest (MESC) 2026 Semi-Final has now been revealed. 18 performers will be participating for a spot in the final that will take place on Saturday, the 17th of January.
From AIDAN to Nathan Psaila
The reveal of the running order was done in two phases. A draw took place which determined the opening and closing acts of the show, which in this case was AIDAN and Nathan Psaila. Yesterday, the 13th of January, the full running order was then revealed as follows:
| Order | Artist | Entry | Author(s) | Composer(s) |
| 1 | AIDAN | “Bella“ | Aidan Cassar | Aidan Cassar, Joep Van Den Boom & Sarah Bonnici |
| 2 | Ema | “Achikuku (Don’t Think About It)“ | Ema Vella, MATT BLXCK & Emil Calleja Bayliss | Ema Vella, MATT BLXCK, Emil Calleja Bayliss & Peter Borg |
| 3 | Chess Galea | “Shout It Out“ | F Galea, Hannah Dorman, Niklas Rosström & Remy Borsboom | F Galea, Hannah Dorman, Niklas Rosström & Remy Borsboom |
| 4 | Liston | “Mela“ | Liston Bongailas | Daniel Borg |
| 5 | Franklin Calleja | “Guide You Home“ | Franklin Calleja | Franklin Calleja & Cyprian Cassar |
| 6 | Kelsy Attard | “Perfectly Broken“ | Kelsy Attard, Sarah Bonnici, Melanie Wehbe & Rasmus Rex Wester Findinge | Kelsy Attard, Sarah Bonnici, Melanie Wehbe & Rasmus Rex Wester Findinge |
| 7 | Matthew Cilia (feat. The AfterParty) | “Brutality Mentality“ | Matthew Cilia & Linnea Gawell | David Depasquale, Daniel Dalli & Joshua Max Wunderlich |
| 8 | Mark Anthony Bartolo | “Mumenti Sbieħ’” | Mark Anthony Bartolo, MATT BLXCK, Ronald Janeček & Silje Montsko Blandkjenn | Mark Anthony Bartolo, MATT BLXCK, Ronald Janeček & Silje Montsko Blandkjenn |
| 9 | DENISE | “Trophy“ | Marcus Winther-John, Linnea Deb & Denise Mercieca | Marcus Winther-John, Linnea Deb, Denise Mercieca & Owen Vos |
| 10 | Kurt Anthony | “On The Borderline“ | Kelly Rose Moncado, Edward Abela & Biagio Joe Romano | Kelly Rose Moncado, Edward Abela & Biagio Joe Romano |
| 11 | Rhiannon Micallef | “Hold Myself Up“ | Rhiannon Micallef, Noah Timman, Kaya Campbell & Natalie Misova | Rhiannon Micallef, Noah Timman, Kaya Campbell & Natalie Misova |
| 12 | Stefan Galea | “POSE“ | Ynke Dingenen, Tchiah Ommar, Owen Vos & Stefan Galea | Ynke Dingenen, Tchiah Ommar, Owen Vos & Stefan Galea |
| 13 | MATT BLXCK | “Ejja Lejja Ħdejja ‘L Hawn (The Flute)“ | MATT BLXCK, Audun Agnar & Matthew James | MATT BLXCK, Audun Agnar & Matthew James |
| 14 | Adria Twins | “Nerġa’ Nqum“ | Joe Julian Farrugia | Shaun Farrugia |
| 15 | Kelsie Borg | “Let A Girl Breathe“ | Linnea Gawell & Gusten Dahlqvist | Linnea Gawell & Jean Paul Borg |
| 16 | Mychael Bartolo Chircop | “My Sweet Angel“ | Mychael Bartolo Chircop, MATT BLXCK, Klinsmann Coleiro & Remy Borsboom | Mychael Bartolo Chircop, MATT BLXCK, Klinsmann Coleiro & Remy Borsboom |
| 17 | Janice Mangion | “Univers“ | Emil Calleja Bayliss | Cyprian Cassar & Mark Scicluna |
| 18 | Nathan Psaila | “Ganador“ | Nathan Psaila, Ynke Dingenen, Tchiah Ommar & Tobi Verheij | Nathan Psaila, Ynke Dingenen, Tchiah Ommar & Tobi Verheij |
The Semi-Final of MESC 2026 is set to take place on January 15, with the final taking place a couple of days later. As we’ve already reported, we know who the hosts will be for this year’s MESC contest. The trio set to guide viewers this time round will be Keane Cutajar, who’ll be joined by veterans – and winners – of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, Destiny Chukunyere and Gaia Cauchi bringing their musical pedigree to the stage.
Malta’s Eurovision journey
Malta made its Eurovision debut in 1971, with Joe Grech performing “Marija I-Maltija” (Maria the Maltese Lass), finishing 18th with 52 points. Malta did not participate in Eurovision from 1975 until 1991, when they returned with the song “Could It Be” by Paul Giordimaina and Georgina, finishing 12th with 32 points. Since then, Malta has been at every Eurovision and finished in the top 10 an impressive 12 times. Their best result is second place, which they’ve achieved twice. The first time was in 2002, when Ira Losco sang “7th Wonder,” and the second time in 2005 with Chiara’s “Angel.”
Miriana Conte represented Malta in 2025 with her song “Serving”, previously known as “Kant”. Competing in the second semi-final, Malta qualified – ending their three-year long non-qualification streak. Miriana would eventually finish in 17th place, earning a total of 91 points. Of these, 83 came from the juries, while just 8 came from televoters.
Are you excited for this year’s show? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Eurovision 2026!
News Source: PBS
Photo Credit: PBS
Euan T 
Giwrgos Oiko 
Michelle