05 Valletta, Malta

**Fabulous Song Contest 5**, often referred to as **FSC #05**, was the fifth edition of Fabulous Song Contest, held in Valletta, Malta.

70 countries participated in the third contest. Ana Whiterose from Switzerland won the contest with the song "Behind The Moon" receving a total of 278 points.

### **HOST CITY**

**Valletta** is the capital city of Malta. Located in the South Eastern Region of the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population in 2014 was 6,444, while the metropolitan area around it has a population of 393,938. Valletta is second only to Nicosia as the southernmost capital of Europe, and at just 0.61 square kilometres, it is the European Union's smallest capital city. Valletta's 16th-century buildings were constructed by the Knights Hospitaller. The city was named after Jean Parisot de Valette, who succeeded in defending the island from an Ottoman invasion during the Great Siege of Malta. The city is Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture, though the Second World War left major scars on the city, particularly the destruction of the Royal Opera House. The city was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980.

### **VENUE**

The **Mediterranean Conference Centre** is a conference centre in Valletta, Malta. The building was built as a hospital in the 16th century by the Order of St. John, and it was known as the Sacra Infermeria or the Holy Infirmary. It was known as the Grand Hôspital during the French occupation of Malta and during the British period was named as the Station Hospital. It was one of the leading hospitals in Europe until the 18th century, and it remained in use until 1920. It had a capacity to keep from 500 to 2,500 patients. The building is now used for multiple banquets, exhibitions, international conventions and theatrical shows.

### **PRESENTER**

**Ella McMahon** better known by her stage name **Ella Eyre**, is a British singer and songwriter. Eyre was born on 1 April 1994 and was raised in Ealing, West London. Her father was Jamaican, and her mother is Maltese. Her father was a chef who lived in his home country of Jamaica, his health too poor to travel to the UK, and her mother, who raised Eyre in London, is a cake designer. Eyre trained as a competitive swimmer before she began singing professionally. Eyre was educated at Millfield School in Somerset; refuting the idea that she came from a privileged background, she observed that her mother could not have afforded the fees, and she went there on a "massive swimming scholarship". She later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology, where she studied musical theatre. Discovered by her management through a vocal coach in 2011, McMahon juggled school with songwriting. She signed to the publisher Warner/Chappell Music in July 2012 and a record deal with Virgin EMI followed shortly after. She is best known for her collaborations with Rudimental on their UK number one single "Waiting All Night", which won the 2014 Brit Award for British Single of the Year, with DJ Fresh on his single "Gravity" , and with Sigala on their singles "Came Here for Love", and "Just Got Paid". Her debut EP, *Deeper*, was released in 2013 and her debut album, *Feline*, was released in 2015. Eyre's musical influences include Lauryn Hill, Etta James, Basement Jaxx and Hans Zimmer.

### **RESULTS**

This time we had three Semi-Final with 23 countries in each Semi-FInal.