The investigation finds no irregularities in Eurovision 2021 spending
In May, the Maltese government announced that it would audit Eurovision 2021 spending by TVM and the Malta Tourism Authority. Now minister Carmelo Abela has confirmed that the investigation found no irregularities.
The audit was instigated following reports in the Maltese media that the local PBS broadcaster had invested public money in betting agencies.
The Times of Malta previously reported that an insider claimed that foreign nationals were given money to place bets on Malta. As a result, the insider claimed that Malta’s bid for Eurovision 2021 had risen to the highest level. This fact helped to make the Maltese entry advertised as the “bookies’ favorite”.
It was also stated that the Malta Tourism Authority passed on the budget through social media spending and sponsored media content across Europe which promoted both Destiny’s entry into Eurovision 2021 and Malta as a tourist destination.
More than € 650,000 was spent on the promotion of “Je me casse” – € 350,000 spent by the Malta Tourism Authority and € 300,000 by the Public Broadcasting Services.
The results of the Maltese audit will not be made public
The Malta Independent newspaper reports that the official audit did not find that the money was spent trying to manipulate the odds of betting. Carmelo Abela told the newspaper, “The audit found that both the MTA and PBS worked on their respective procurement regulations.”
The report itself has not yet been published. Abela told the Independent that there were restrictions on the publication of the report. But he claimed that both PBS and the MTA had followed “respective procurement procedures in place” related to their Eurovision work.
This is not the first time that the Maltese broadcaster has been criticized for Eurovision spending. In 2016, PBS was selected for spending around € 1 million on Ira Losco’s “Walk on Water” revenue. This included € 80,000 for Ira’s holographic coat and expensive digital projection system. This staging element was heavily promoted but eventually dropped out of performance after it did not function as expected.
Despite Malta’s strong desire to win Eurovision – and the broadcaster’s pockets – a Maltese act has yet to take home the crystal microphone. Ira Losco placed 12th in the grand final, while Destiny finished seventh, both acts faring better with the jury than with the televoters. However, Destiny’s seventh place remains Malta’s best Eurovision result in 16 years.
What do you think? Does a broadcaster want to spend big to win Eurovision? Should the EBU put a cap on spending? Tell us your thoughts below!