Five Surprising Connections between Australia and Malta at Eurovision

Malta and Australia might seem like vastly different countries - and yet, spend any time in Melbourne or Sydney and you'll see a thriving Maltese community with a long history.

Indeed, Maltese locals are often quick to note that Australia is the country with the largest Maltese community outside of Malta!

As Australia looks forward to an unexpected Maltese visitor later this week (more on that later), we tracked five unexpected Eurovision connections between our two countries.

Check them out below!

Delta Goodrem's Maltese Wedding

Our first connection relates to Australia's 2026 Eurovision princess, Delta Goodrem, who celebrated her wedding to musician Matthew Copley last year in Malta.

A talented guitarist, Matthew and Delta met through music and started dating in 2017, with Matthew ultimately popping the question on a holiday in Malta during 2023.

The wedding was an intimate family affair hosted at the historic St Paul's Cathedral in Mdina, Malta.

Upon meeting Maltese Eurovision 2026 Aidan at the Nordic Eurovision Party last weekend, Delta shared that Malta has a very special place in her heart after playing such a big part in her life.

Christabelle meets the Australian Foreign Minister

Eurovision 2018 artist Christabelle isn't just beloved at home in Malta - she's international!

In 2018, Christabelle performed her Eurovision song for the British Parliament as the Global Citizen Advocate for Mental Health Awareness. The song, Taboo, has a strong theme about breaking the taboo around mental illness and seeking help when needed.

In the audience at this performance, however, was another unexpected Australian connection - the then-foreign minister Julie Bishop!

Bishop and Christabelle were photographed together at the event - marking another close encounter between the two countries.

The Busker's Dav Jr cameos on Neighbours

Beloved Australian soap Neighbours has launched many an Australian household name, from Kylie Minogue to Delta Goodrem - but did you know that a Maltese Eurovision Act also made an appearance?

In a 2023 interview with Aussievision, the band's frontman Dav Jr unexpectedly revealed that he had spent seven months living in Melbourne in 2018.

While mostly focused on music during this period, Dav also took on some casual extra work, appearing as an extra in David and Aaron’s Wedding (episode 7,921).

The wedding was the first gay wedding on Australian TV and featured comedy icon Magda Szubanski playing the eccentric celebrant Jemima Davies-Smythe. At the time, the episode was regarded as the "best soapie wedding".

You can spot Dav Jr as Aaron starts making his way down the aisle (right side of the screen) and as the scene progresses you see Dav Jr savouring every moment while blowing bubbles with the rest of the guests.

Australia loves Serving Kant

Australia and Malta have a history of trading points at the Eurovision Song Contest - perhaps reflecting the surprisingly close cultural ties between the countries.

In 2022, Aussievision analysed the history of voting between the countries, finding that Australia and Malta give each other higher-than-average numbers of points when compared to their voting record to other countries.

Of particular interest was that the countries often trade points in years where our songs have otherwise not scored very highly - in 2018, Jessica Mauboy's highest televoting score came from Malta, while the aforementioned Christabelle received 7 of her 8 televote points from Australia.

This trend was particularly pronounced last year. In the grand final, Miriana Conte's fan favourite song Kant received it's highest televoting scores from - you guessed it - Australia. We sent her 8 points in the semifinal, and 5 points (out of a total of 8) in the grand final.

Malta also returned the favour, giving a respectable 5 points to the Milkshake Man himself, Go-Jo - a score beaten only by 6 points from Latvia and Lithuania.

It's official - Australia loves to serve kant.

Aidan becomes the first Eurovision 2026 artist to tour Australia

And finally, we look ahead to this weekend, when Eurovision 2026 artist Aidan becomes the first non-Australian artist to tour Australia as part of an official Eurovision promotional tour!

While several artists have toured Australia previously after their appearance on Europe's largest stage, the distances involved usually make it impossible for artists to tour Australia in the lead-up to the Contest itself.

Aidan will give concerts for the local Maltese communities in Melbourne and Sydney.

He will also make appearances at OGAE's preview parties in those cities to sing his Eurovision 2026 song Bella.

You can make a free reservation to go to Aidan's Melbourne show here, and his Sydney show here.

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