It's real - no make-believe!

The setting was idyllic. Last Wednesday I had the privilege to inaugurate the Historic Cities Festival being organised for the second year running by the Malta Tourism Authority.

The inauguration was held outside the chapel that commemorates the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt along Pinto Wharf, which has been transformed into the magnificent Valletta Waterfront.

The inauguration followed a re-enactment of a ceremonial visit to the chapel by Grand Master Pinto (1741-1773). The 'grand master' arrived by carriage, was welcomed by various well-wishers and must have felt proud to see the stores alongside the chapel which he had set up for storage reinstated in their original splendour. His arrival was followed by folk dancing by Gruppo Folk I Timetos from Messina and the inauguration of an exhibition entitled Fantasy by the Sea by five leading Maltese artists.

The exhibition is taking place in one of the rehabilitated vaults of the original Pinto Stores and I must express my utter delight at the quality of work by our artists who, using different media and styles, make the point that Malta is not only proud of its cultural heritage and it ends there as though we then stopped producing new works of art, but is equally proud of what one generation after another of artists keep on creating as they share with others their unique talents.

The five artists who set up this multi-media exhibition together are Anton Agius, Angelo Agius, Margaret Farrugia, Pauleen Micallef and Monica Spiteri. My gratitude and congratulations to them for their excellent work and for providing, as it were, additional colours through the joy of visual art to our Historic Cities Festival.

It is no coincidence that immediately after inaugurating this exhibition, I went to the vault next door to visit another unique exhibition entitled Malta through the Ages by Francis Xavier Aloisio depicting in an original manner various scenes that evoke episodes of our history, not least when the island was ruled by the Order of St John. Again, well done and let's have more creative experiences that are shared with Maltese and foreign visitors.

The Valletta Waterfront project is a dream come true. The long hours spent in planning it out, negotiating with the present developers and ensuring that a fool-proof contract is presented to Parliament for its endorsement are time well spent, and part of its success story results from the fact that there is already scope for its expansion.

This is the whole point about the Malta product. As I had occasion to explain to a number of visitors who gathered to follow the inauguration ceremony, in Malta we do not have to invent stories or myths that never took place. It's real - there is no make-believe.

The Historic Cities Festival not only evolves in venues that are genuinely rich in their history and heritage, but also includes various re-enactments which, as the name implies, portray what had actually happened in the same cities throughout their glorious history.

The festival, which kicked off last Thursday, stretches out until today week. The re-enactments that are an integral part of it include evoking the inauguration of the Great Siege monument erected 300 years ago in Vittoriosa. That ceremony will be taking place this morning at the very spot where the monument was originally unveiled as a commemoration of Malta's victory in the Great Siege of 1565. Then this evening, electric lights in the same city will be switched off to allow for a number of tours that will be conducted around it by candle-light.

The whole idea is to relive the atmosphere at the time of the Knights. Animation will also add to the realistic touch.

Some animation is also being provided in the cultural tours that the Ministry of Tourism and Culture is for the second year running organising with Maltese 'tourists' as the target group. The principle behind such tours is that as a people we need to become more conscious of the rich texture of our history and there is no better way to achieve this than by participating in an experience that brings back to life one historical episode or another.

Last night, Masquerade Theatre Company provided people gathered in Vittoriosa with a concert version of 1565 - The Musical. I would describe the Great Siege as an integral part of Malta's collective memory, and in particular of the memory evoked by the Grand Harbour where it all took place.

I am grateful to the hard-working and dedicated core group within the Malta Tourism Authority that painstakingly sees to the organisation of the various events throughout the year to provide our product with strong magnets that attract more visitors to our country. The Historic Cities Festival is one of the major feats of this core group and last year we made two important changes to what used to take place before: having a festival that consists of an organic programme spread out over various cities as opposed to organising one-offs in one place or another, and having set dates, bringing the festival to a grand finale towards mid-October to encourage tour operators to include the festival in their marketing strategy and have visitors come over to Malta specifically with this event in mind.

Other re-enactments include recalling the landing of the French troops in Gozo in 1798. This is taking place at It-Tokk and the Citadel, Victoria, by the Historical Re-enactment Group of Malta. It evokes the beginning of Malta's two years under Napoleonic rule - another layer of our chequered history.

The festival's event in Mdina, the old capital, consists of a medieval re-enactment evoking the arrival of Count Roger of Hauteville in 1091. This particular production is taking place with the participation of the 'Swords of Dumnonia' re-enactment group of the UK.

Other events include Norman period re-enactments in Mdina while a Sicilian street theatre group recounts ballads of yore.

Then in Valletta we shall have a representation of Grand Master La Valette after the Great Siege, and the mid-day gun battery salute by members of Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna at the Saluting Battery at the Upper Barracca, in this case evoking the British era.

The Historic Cities Festival goes well beyond the various re-enactments. The programme includes various concerts and performances by modern bands and groups from Malta and abroad who come together to offer us 11 days of continuous entertainment. Again, my gratitude to all performers and to those who work behind the scenes to make sure that every detail is properly in place to make a difference to the whole that like a perfect mosaic emerges from the brilliant colours of the different pieces that are fitted together.

As happened last year, the grand finale will consist of a Military Tattoo on the Palace Square, Valletta. The majestic event brings together the Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna Victorian troops, the In Guardia re-enactment group, a Czech band and majorettes, the 3rd Cadet Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Wales, UK, the South Yorkshire Police Band, UK, the Pipes and Drums of the 1st Battalion - the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of the UK, and our own Malta Police Precision Drill as well as the Malta Police Band and the Armed Forces of Malta Band that will all undoubtedly do us proud.

The inauguration of the Historic Cities Festival was not the only item on my schedule last Thursday. Just before that, I gave a press conference to explain the works to be carried out to embellish Glormu Cassar Avenue in Valletta, thus ensuring that the route between Valletta Waterfront and the city centre is up to scratch. Work on this project kicks off in earnest this week. In the evening, I inaugurated a Crusades Exhibition that forms part of a European Culture 2000 programme with international partners in Cyprus, Greece, Italy and France. This event is organised by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.

Later I launched a book entitled Malta - War and Peace, an Architectural Chronicle 1800- 2000 co-authored by Conrad Thake and the late Quentin Hughes. That was an occasion to have a closer look at different architectural expressions through two centuries of our history, reflecting in turn some of the historic layers of that chronicle.

All events keep asserting the same point: it's real - no make-believe. That is what the Malta product is all about.

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