Chiara, the runner-up of the 50th Eurovision Song Contest was given a huge and hearty welcome on her arrival in Malta, yesterday. One of the supporters was seen carrying an angel, holding the Maltese flag in resemblance of the Maltese singer Chiara.
Chiara returned on the island early Monday morning at around 1:15 CET on a flight from Munich. Chiara Siracusa, together with the crew that accompanied her in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, were greeted at the Malta International Airport by hundreds of fans that crammed the arrival lounge despite the time.
It was also announced that Chiara won the Press Award for best song at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. When talking with the press she said that at first she was disappointed placing second because she went to Kyiv willing to win. But than on second thoughts she is nevertheless happy with the result obtained.
“I am happy to have surpassed my personal record. But coming so close yet again is a bit hard to take in at first, even though I am delighted with the result”, she said.
Many commented that she placed third the first time and second the second time round, so could it be a case of third time lucky? Would she ever contemplate competing in the contest for a third time? “It's too soon to say. I can't say no outright. Maybe I will, but you never know how my life and career will develop”, Chiara said.
Grace Borg, head of MaltaSong, expressed her satisfaction and said that she was pleased with this year's voting, despite the usual 'political voting' between neighbouring countries still exists. She proudly said that Malta achieved this result on its own merit, given that Malta has no neighbouring countries to turn to for support. “We did the best we could and I am personally satisfied. What could have been done I feel we did”, she concluded.
At the arrival lounge, Chiara was than greeted by her sister Vanora before being escorted out of the airport by police, as people gathered even outside the terminal.
“Placing second lays the foundation for new openings and the result is a clear signal that there is a market for ballads”, Chiara said. Asked if she would continue focusing her musical career on ballads, Chiara replied that this genre of music was her direction, focus and inspiration.
In the meantime the Maltese national TV station announced the local official audience figures for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. 250,000 locals watched it on PBS-TVM while 50,000 locals tuned in to BBC Prime (via cable TV). This sums up to a total of 300,000 televiewers from a population of nearly 400,000.
