Grace Borg (Maltasong) resigns

by Sietse Bakker 212 views

Grace Borg, head of the Maltasong board, has resigned over the same clause that caused controversy last year; the participation of foreign composers and authors in Malta's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, Malta Song for Europe. The Sunday Times wrote that today.

Malta's Culture Minister, Francis Zammit Dimech, confirmed that Grace Borg had handed in her resignation. Malta's Cabinet now has to determine a new chairman for Maltasong's board. Grace Borg had expressed her wish to stay on as head of the board until the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, next month in Hasselt, Belgium.

Last November, the Union for Maltese Composers and Authors (UKAM) had threatened to boycott the festival after new regulations allowed the participation of foreign writers and composers. The waters were calmed after Maltasong, with the Culture Minister's intervention, agreed that this year participation by foreigners would be allowed strictly on a reciprocity basis and provided that the other country had some form of selection process.

Soon after she was re-appointed in June, Borg once again broached this hot topic and started to meet UKAM over the possibility to reach a different agreement; the union, however, was against it. “The board and I did not agree with her so she handed in her letter of resignation”, the Culture Minister said. “Agreements are not there to be broken. I respect Ms Borg's work and all that she has done in the past, but Maltasong has to respect an agreement”.

Grace Borg was not available for comments, as she is in Copenhagen, where the 50th anniversary show Congratulations took place yesterday.