Sad news coming from Malta this morning, as the small island nation’s first ever Eurovision entrant – Joe Grech, had died at the age of 90.

Joe Grech was the first ever Maltese entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest. Back in 1971 he won the very first Maltese national final, and thus won the right to represent his country in Eurovision. His entry “Marija l-Maltija” unfortunately failed to impress the European juries, and the song finished in last place in Dublin, with 52 points. Regardless of that fact, the song remains popular in Malta even today.

He performed his Eurovision song at the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2022 as part of the interval act:

Our sincere condolences to the family, friends and fans of Joe Grech at this difficult time.