Malta competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia. The Maltese entry was selected through the Malta Song for Europe contest, where the winner was Ira Losco with the song "7th Wonder", written by Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg.
| Eurovision Song Contest 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Malta | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Malta Song for Europe 2002 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 15-16 February 2002 | |||
| Selected entrant | Ira Losco | |||
| Selected song | "7th Wonder" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | ||||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 2nd, 164 points | |||
| Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Before Eurovision
Malta Song for Europe 2002
Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), the Maltese broadcaster, organised a national final to select the 2002 Maltese entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. Malta Song for Europe 2002 was held on 15 and 16 February, where the winner was decided through an expert jury, comprising 5/8 of the overall vote, and public televoting, comprising the remaining 3/8 of the vote.
Sixteen songs competed to be the Maltese entry to Eurovision, with the final winner being Ira Losco with the song "7th Wonder".
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nadine Axisa | "Think of You" | Marica Axisa, Joe Julian Farrugia | 59 | 15 | 74 | 6 |
| 2 | Lawrence Gray | "What Happened to Our Love" | Ray Agius, Alfred C. Sant | 42 | 48 | 90 | 4 |
| 3 | Andreana Debattista and Karl Spiteri | "Theresa" | Karl Spiteri | 48 | 24 | 72 | 8 |
| 4 | Ira Losco | "One Step Away" | Ray Agius, Philip Vella | 47 | 54 | 101 | 3 |
| 5 | Lawrence Gray | "Moment of Truth" | Paul Abela, Alfred C. Sant | 36 | 36 | 72 | 8 |
| 6 | Gunther Chetcuti | "Wanna Hold On" | Eugenio Schembri, Gunther Chetcuti | 47 | 27 | 74 | 6 |
| 7 | Olivia Lewis | "Give Me Wings" | Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan | 35 | 30 | 65 | 11 |
| 8 | Julie Zahra | "Secret to Share" | Mark Debono, Fiona Cauchi | 28 | 9 | 37 | 16 |
| 9 | Fiona | "Hide and Seek" | Paul Abela, Alfred C. Sant | 37 | 3 | 40 | 14 |
| 10 | Paula | "Dazzle Me" | Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg | 56 | 21 | 77 | 5 |
| 11 | Annalise Ellul | "A New Day Is Dawning" | Dominic Galea, Paul Callus | 39 | 33 | 72 | 8 |
| 12 | Ira Losco | "7th Wonder" | Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg | 100 | 60 | 160 | 1 |
| 13 | Nadine Axisa | "Romantic" | Ray Agius | 33 | 6 | 39 | 15 |
| 14 | Roger Tirazona | "When I'm Near" | Paul Abela, Joe Chircop | 23 | 18 | 41 | 13 |
| 15 | Karen Polidano | "When Comes My Lover" | John David Zammit, Ray Mahoney | 61 | 42 | 103 | 2 |
| 16 | Fiona | "Heaven in My Life" | Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan | 39 | 12 | 51 | 12 |
| Detailed Jury Votes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Song | Jury 1 | Jury 2 | Jury 3 | Jury 4 | Jury 5 | Total |
| 1 | "Think of You" | 18 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 59 |
| 2 | "What Happened to Our Love" | 7 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 18 | 42 |
| 3 | "Theresa" | 1 | 16 | 16 | 3 | 12 | 48 |
| 4 | "One Step Away" | 6 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 47 |
| 5 | "Moment of Truth" | 5 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 36 |
| 6 | "Wanna Hold On" | 16 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 9 | 47 |
| 7 | "Give Me Wings" | 4 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 35 |
| 8 | "Secret to Share" | 3 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 28 |
| 9 | "Hide and Seek" | 2 | 11 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 37 |
| 10 | "Dazzle Me" | 14 | 9 | 12 | 18 | 3 | 56 |
| 11 | "A New Day Is Dawning" | 11 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 39 |
| 12 | "7th Wonder" | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 100 |
| 13 | "Romantic" | 8 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 33 |
| 14 | "When I'm Near" | 12 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 23 |
| 15 | "When Comes My Lover" | 9 | 18 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 61 |
| 16 | "Heaven in My Life" | 10 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 39 |
At Eurovision
At Eurovision Ira performed "7th Wonder" 20th in the running order, following Turkey and preceding Romania. Malta finished the night with 164 points (maximum 12s from Croatia, Denmark and the United Kingdom) finishing 2nd of the 24 entries, Malta's best placing to date, with only Romania failing to award the song any points.[1] The Maltese votes were calculated through a 50/50 split in public televote held after all songs had performed and the votes of a professional jury. However this would be the last year that countries could choose the use a 50/50 voting method after allegations of vote swapping were used between the eight countries (including Malta) that used juries for part or all of their votes.[2]
