An enlightening experience

Last Saturday Valletta staged another memorable event. Notte Bianca gave birth to the regeneration of Valletta at night. We, at the Valletta local council, as a stakeholder and sponsor in the event, would like to give credit to Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, the main catalyst of this event.

Believing in the event, the minister sowed a seed that has yet again yielded ripe fruit. The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts was the driving force of the event and, as early as last January, it started to bring all the stakeholders together with the intention of offering the best to the people.

Notte Bianca was an event for the family, and a time for people to converge in one of Europe's finest open-air museums. Notte Bianca is a clear message that culture is on the agenda, as a means to improve the quality of life, offering space to artists, as much as the citizen, to develop and grow through culture.

In more ways than one, Notte Bianca was a solid investment in Malta, in Valletta and in our people. It came one day after Valletta saw the berthing of a record number of seven cruise ships in Grand Harbour, attracting over 10,000 tourists in one day. The cruise industry is a stimulant to our tourism sector, growing by more than 30 per cent on the previous year. This happened by no mere coincidence. Like Notte Bianca, the secret to this success is the synergy among all the stakeholders, and the necessary joint investment offered by the public and private sector.

Notte Bianca, pioneered by Mary Ann Cauchi, the executive director assigned by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, presented a record of events and attracted a record number of people to Valletta in one night. With more than 400 performing artists, and over 800 people working on the event in their respective areas, Lejl Imdawwal opened the doors of culture to the people, attracting tens of thousands to the streets and gardens of Valletta. Thank you Mary Ann!

The Valletta local council would like to thank all those who gave their share: The performing artist and "backstage" staff; the Valletta Alive Foundation and the business community at large for the support and services they offered; the Police Force and the Civil Protection Department who have patrolled the streets discreetly, making it secure for visitors.

Democracy and culture came together with the Office of the Prime Minister opening its doors to the people. Opening Castille was not only an expression to enjoy a fine symbol of baroque architecture. It was a clear symbol of a strong democracy coming always closer to the people. Many thanks to the Prime Minister for believing in the event, to the staff who led the tours and ushered the visitors round as close as possible to the Prime Minister's private office and the Cabinet room.

Thank you to the Manoel Theatre, St James Cavalier, St John's Co-Cathedral, Heritage Malta and Casa Rocca Piccola for opening your doors to the people late at night, and for staging tours and events.

The media necessarily deserves full credit. It made all information public and known to the people. It was one of the main driving forces to bring the people to the various events. Hats off to Allied Newspapers, in particular.

As a long-standing institution in Valletta, The Times and The Sunday Times were key players in this event. A heartfelt thanks goes to the citizens of Valletta, particularly the elderly, who have seen this event as an opportunity for the capital city and for the country, bearing with the sounds and people in their streets.

Thumbs up for the street cleaners and the bus drivers who returned home to their families early in the morning due to the pristine service they were giving to others throughout the night.

Our sincerest words of thanks go to the people who flocked to the city and gave it life.

We hope you have enjoyed it and we promise to offer you more events in Valletta in the coming months. We also hope you will be, once again, the main actors at our next events.

Dr Borg Olivier is mayor of Valletta.