This evening sees Malta determine their representative for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest in their national final for the Kyiv-hosted competition, MESC 2017.

For the first time since 2006, Malta’s act for the Eurovision Song Contest will be determined in one final, with TVM and PBS removing the semi-final stage of the competition.

How to watch

MESC 2017 will air from 21:00 CET on the following channels:

• TVM
• Live webcast via tvm.com.mt

Tonight’s show

This evening sees a total of 16 finalists competing for the right to represent Malta at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. MESC 2017 will be hosted by Daniel Azzopardi and Charlene Mercieca at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre in Ta’Qali.

This year sees a change to the voting mechanism in MESC 2017; having previously used a combined televote and jury vote to determine the Maltese Eurovision representatives, 2017 sees the jury being dropped from the selection process, meaning that tonight’s winner will be decided via a 100% televote.

The participants

Tonight’s participants were determined back in December 2016, with the MESC 2017 running order being revealed the following month:

1. Klinsmann Coleiro – Laserlight
2. Raquela Dalli Gonzi – Ray of light
3. Deborah C & Josef Tabone – Tonight
4. Kevin Borg – Follow
5. Jade Vella – Seconds away
6. Crosswalk – So simple
7. Franklin Calleja – Follow me
8. Rhiannon Michallef – Fearless
9. Miriana Conte – Don’t look down
10. Shauna Vassallo – Crazy games
11. Janice Mangion – Kewkba
12. Cherton Caruana – Fighting to survive
13. Maxine Pace – Bombshell
14. Richard Edwards – You
15. Brooke Borg – Unstoppable
16. Claudia Faniello – Breathlessly

The winner of MESC 2017 will represent Malta at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest in the second semi-final on the 11 May, performing for a place in the Grand Final of the competition on the 13 May.