Today, 21 September, is National Independence Day in Malta, celebrating 58 years since the small island nation gained independence from the British Empire in 1964.
Malta often punches above its weight at Eurovision, particularly during its heyday during the the 1990s and 2000s. Between 1991 and 2005, the country made the top 10 an impressive 12 times.
In more recent years, the record has been more mixed. However, a bright spot has been that, since 2015, Australia has become one of Malta’s most consistent sources of points.
This reflects surprisingly strong cultural ties between the two countries – indeed, Australia has the largest Maltese community in the world outside of Malta itself!
So, to celebrate Malta’s Independence Day, we’re analysing the exchange of points between Australia and Malta at Eurovision since 2015.
Australia – points given to Malta
Since joining the contest in 2015, Australia has had 7 opportunities to give Malta points in the semi-finals and Grand Finals and has given points on 6 of those occasions.
2015: Amber – ‘Warrior’
Semi-final: 3 points from the combined jury/televote
2016: Ira Losco – ‘Walk on Water’
Grand Final: 0 points from the jury, 6 points from the televote
2018: Christabelle – ‘Taboo’
Semi-final 2: 3 points from the jury, 7 points from the televote (highest televote points)
2019: Michela Pace – ‘Chameleon’
Grand Final: 0 points from the jury, 4 points from the televote
2021: Destiny – ‘Je me casse’
Semi-final: 12 points from the jury, 10 points from the televote
Grand Final: 12 points from the jury, 8 points from the televote
2022: Emma Muscat – ‘I am what I am’
Semi-final: 0 points from the jury, 0 points from the televote
Malta – points given to Australia
Over the same time period, Malta has had 9 opportunities to give Australia points at Eurovision, and has given points on 7 of those occasions.
2015: Guy Sebastian – ‘Tonight Again’
Grand Final: 6 points from the combined jury/televote
2016: Dami Im – ‘Sound of Silence’
Grand Final: 3 points from the jury, 12 points from the televote
2017: Isaiah – ‘Don’t Come Easy’
Grand Final: 0 points from the jury, 0 points from the televote
2018: Jessica Mauboy – ‘We Got Love’
Semi-final 2: 7 points from the jury, 10 points from the televote (highest televote points)
Grand Final: 3 points from the jury, 6 points from the televote (highest televote points)
2019: Kate Miller-Heidke – ‘Zero Gravity’
Grand Final: 0 points from the jury, 3 points from the televote
2021: Montaigne – ‘Technicolour’
Semi-final: 0 points from the jury, 0 points from the televote
2022: Sheldon Riley – ‘Not the Same’
Semi-final: 10 points from the jury, 7 points from the televote
Grand Final: 6 points from the jury, 0 points from the televote
Who is more generous?
In general, the two countries are relatively even in their exchanges of points, although interestingly in both cases the televote proves more generous than the jury.
Australia to Malta
Average jury points given: 4.29 points
Average televote points given: 5.43 points
Malta to Australia
Average jury points given: 3.88 points
Average televote points given: 4.89 points
Australia is slightly more generous overall – which is interesting particularly given that Australia’s results at Eurovision have largely been stronger than Malta’s since our debut – but overall the differences are minor.
More revealing than average points is when Malta and Australia vote for each other, however, with points often being exchanged even in years where neither country scores particularly highly.
This came to a particular climax in 2018, where the Maltese televote gave Jessica Mauboy her highest televote points in both the semi-final and the final, while the Australian public gave poor Christabelle 7 of her 8 televote points!
Comparison to the average Eurovision nation
We see this propensity for Australia and Malta to always throw each other at least some points when we compare to the average points given by all countries.
Australia to Malta
Average points given to Malta by Eurovision nations: 3.05 points
Average points given to Malta by Australia: 4.86 points
Difference: +1.81 points
Malta to Australia
Average points given to Australia by Eurovision nations: 4.08 points
Average points given to Australia by Malta: 4.39 points
Difference: + 0.31 points
On average, then, Australia and Malta are far more generous with their points to each other than most other countries, showing the strong ties between the two.
With both countries still chasing their first win at Eurovision, perhaps this will translate into a podium spot in the near future?
Happy independence day to all our readers from Malta, and we can’t wait to see what you bring next year!
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