Malta first participated at the
Eurovision Song Contest in 1971, although its history with the contest dates farther back. The Maltese Broadcasting Authority (MBA) gained associate
European Broadcasting Union (EBU) membership on 1 January 1964 and it wrote a letter to the EBU enquiring about if it could participate as an associate member, but received no response. However, MBA still broadcast the 1964 contest. The MBA once again wrote to the EBU in 1965 asking if it could participate. This time the EBU responded but did not allow the MBA to participate in the contest as an associate member. On 1 January 1970, the MBA became an active member of the EBU and participation in the Eurovision Song Contest was possible for the first time. The MBA once again wrote to the EBU enquiring about its participation, but were informed that "Since arrangements for the contest were already in an advanced stage" they could not participate. The MBA successfully participated at the contest for the first time in . The format for Malta's national finals in the 70s consisted of the
Malta Song Festival, which had been held annually in the country since 1960, acting as a semi-final with the highest placing songs going to the Song For Europe contest, where the winner would be chosen by a combination of jury and public votes. Malta's first entry to Eurovision was "
Marija l-Maltija" performed by
Joe Grech. It scored 52 points and finished last out of 18 countries. Malta participated again in with "
L-imħabba" by
Helen & Joseph. It scored 48 points and Malta came last for the second year in a row. The MBA had originally planned to participate in but due to complications behind their national final where the MBA deemed the participating songs to be "below the European standard", it withdrew as they feared getting last for a third year in a row. Malta never applied for the contest as they feared getting another low result. Malta returned in and participated with the song "
Singing This Song" by
Renato. They scored 32 points and came 12th out of 19 countries. This was considered a success for Malta and enthusiasm for the contest in the Maltese music industry increased drastically. On 11 September 1975, the MBA announced their intention to participate in the and opened song submissions for their national final which closed on 15 October. However on 4 November, the MBA announced their withdrawal from the contest, citing that the participation fee had been drastically increased and Malta could not afford to participate. In a statement released on 20 November, the MBA said that it felt it was "Under no obligation to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest year after year" and Malta did not participate in the contest again until 1991. Malta's return to the contest by the
Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) in , after a 16-year absence, proved to be more successful, with eight consecutive top 10 placings (1991–1998) and finishing in the top 10 in 12 out of 15 contests from 1991 to 2005. These results included third-place finishes in for
Mary Spiteri and in for
Chiara and second-place finishes in
2002 for
Ira Losco and in for Chiara, who in became the first performer to represent Malta at three contests, finishing 22nd. Malta's two second-places and two third-places make it the most successful country not to win the contest. In the last 15 contests, Malta has only reached the top 10 twice, with
Gianluca Bezzina finishing eighth in , and
Destiny Chukunyere finishing seventh in .
Fabrizio Faniello, who had previously finished ninth in , finished last in the final, and since then the country has failed to qualify from the semi-final round ten times, in , , , , , , , , , and ; of these non-qualification, it finished bottom 3 in the semi-final in and , and last place in and . Malta is one of the few countries that has not missed a contest since 1991, together with France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. All of Malta's entries between 1975 and 2025 have been sung fully in its other official language, English, which it was one of the few countries allowed to use in the contest between 1977 and 1999, being a former British colony which (as seen below) has had a close relationship with the UK within the contest. The only use of the Maltese language during this period was three lines in the 2000 entry "
Desire" by
Claudette Pace. It was not until 2026 that the Maltese language finally returned as it was partially used in the country’s entry, "
Bella" by
Aidan. Also, along with Croatia and Sweden it was the only country never to be relegated, under the previous rules of the contest, that was not a part of the "Big Four". ==Selection process==