Music has never really been a significant feature on aboutmalta.com. However, this seems to be changing now, partly thanks to the growing popularity of domestic broadband. Moreover, the number of music-related links in the Arts & Entertainment section on aboutmalta.com has risen considerably in recent months.

This weekend the Maltese music pop scene will descend on the Mediterranean Conference Centre for the annual appointment with the Malta Song for Europe festival. Late on Saturday night we'll know who will be representing Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in Greece next May.

If you prefer to listen to something other than pop music, I recommend you look into a series of music podcasts the MaltaMedia Online Network started making available last November. The music featured on that podcast is the sort you rarely hear on the radio in Malta.

Over the coming weeks, aboutmalta.com will continue to look into bringing you the best of Maltese music on the Internet. All suggestions are welcome, of course.

Toni Sant
Consulting Editor, aboutmalta.com

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1. Last Month's Daily News from MaltaMedia
2. Top Picks:
     a. 2006 Malta Song for Europe
     b. Valentine's Day e-Cards
3. This Month in Maltese History
4. What's On This Month

01 Youth dies after fall, two police officers badly hurt
02 Over Lm151,000 collected for Dar tal-Providenza
03 Front door of Qormi Mayor's residence set alight
04 Three computer shops robbed
05 Elderly man on danger list
06 Extradited Maltese arrives in Italy for investigations
07 19-year-old seriously injured in shooting
08 Two songs win place in Song for Europe final
09 Malta ranks first on the world happiness list
10 Imports of untreated feathers from Turkey suspended
11 US President praises Malta whilst addressing war veterans
12 Five Algerians land illegally in Malta
13 "If people do not trust me, I will resign"-Police Commissioner
14 Additional EU funding for Malta's illegal immigration problems
15 Gama textile group negotiations fail
16 Thief fails to complete robbery
17 15 kilos of heroin seized in 2005
18 European Parliament rejects plan to liberalise ports
19 First Tamiflu consignment arrives in Malta
20 Woman dies after fall, Police seize cannabis resin
21 Police retrieve four stolen vehicles
22 New Gozitan Bishop consecrated
23 Customs seize counterfeit footwear
24 Cold weather hits the Maltese islands
25 30 months imprisonment for Victor Pace
26 EC analyses Maltese National Reform Programme
27 Maltacom privatisation enters its final phase
28 Meters, code of conduct feature in taxis' reform
29 Record drug seizures in 2005
30 Internet subscriptions up in Q4 2005
31 Gozo Channel transport suspended due to bomb threat

Read and/or listen to the latest daily news from MaltaMedia.com.

a. 2006 Malta Song for Europe

Preparations for Malta's chance to shine in front of the largest television audience start with the annual Malta Song for Europe contest. This year's hopefuls will sing their hearts out during the first weekend of February, mesmerized by the grand prize: representing Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Greece this May. Song clips and all the latest information available at EurovisionMalta.com.
 

b. Valentine's Day e-Cards

You're never too old to express your appreciation for someone you love or admire. Maltese-born creative Gattaldo created a series of free animated e-cards just for this occassion. Macromedia's Flash Player is required to view these e-cards, but you can download it through the page where the cards are displayed. Other Valentine e-cards are available too. And remember that it doesn't have to be the 14th of February to let someone you treasure know how much you appreciate them!

30 YEARS AGO (2 February 1976)
Malta gets its first TV Outside Broadcasting Unit. The OBU arrives from Switzerland and will be used by Xandir Malta.

20 YEARS AGO (26 February 1986)
Four persons are killed and seven injured in an explosion caused by a gas leakage at Lower Merchants Street in Valletta.

10 YEARS AGO (17 February 1996)
Two Russian naval vessels arrive in Malta with 3,000 crew. This was the first such visit for more than 160 years.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS
7 February 1934: Eddie Fenech Adami, President of Malta
7 February 1964: Mark F. Montebello, priest/human rights activist
8 February 1968: Claudette Pace, entertainer
28 February 1948: Alfred Sant, MLP leader

DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
2 February 2005: Joe James [Farrugia], entertainer, dies at 59
9 February 1990: Charles Bajada, singer (The Greenfields), dies at 43
22 February 1963: Ruzar Briffa, poet, dies at 57
25 February 1929: Antonio Nani, composer, dies at 87

See aboutmalta.com's daily full list of birthdays, deaths, and events in Maltese history.

Today in Maltese History is produced exclusively for aboutmalta.com by Mario Axiaq.

1 February onwards
Symbolic Imagery of Archaic Gems
An art exhibition by Monica Spiteri inspired by Malta's archaeological heritage and culture, at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.

17 February
Nadur Carnival Show
Carnival lets rip in the Gozitan town of Nadur with a four-hour Carnival show in the main square.

17 February
The Beatles Show
A spectacular event featuring the world-renowned "Bootleg Beatles" supported by a number of musicians from the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert will be held at the Eden Arena in St Julians.

24-28 February
Carnival Week
Carnival Week is undoubtedly one of the most colourful events in the Maltese calendar. Carnival provides five days of revelry with many dressing up in colourful costumes.

View aboutmalta.com's full calendar for this month's events in Malta and Gozo, or to submit a future event to our calendar.