Valletta is always a crowd puller

The large thousands who poured into Valletta on Saturday, in spite of the very uncertain weather, is the best proof that Valletta has always been and will remain a crowd puller if there is activity to attract people.

The organisers, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture through the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, are truly proud of the success of the evening and there has been little discussion about the flaws in the organisation that could have been avoided. But for a first time and under all circumstances it was a success. We need to fine-tune the logistics, especially in terms of traffic management and parking, and look into the date and timing of the activity in order to make it an even better success.

What many seem to forget is that in the past various attempts have been made to have some kind of similar activity though not over so many hours. Readers will recall, for instance, the successful days when a number of minor churches and palaces were open to the public and people thronged in their thousands to see them. There were various attempts at festivals: flowers, music, spring, etc. The problem has always been lack of financial and organisational resources.

The activities that have been held this year were a success because there was sufficient investment in organisation and publicity. The Notte Bianca in particular but also the activities of the Valletta Alive Initiative, among others, succeeded because there was someone who was designated to do the job - rather than it being a side job to many other jobs - and because there was financial backing. What is important is that they succeeded and that they should be followed up by other activities.

I have often written in the past that Valletta can only be alive if it has a constant string of cultural activities. Valletta can never be and should not be a Paceville. It will, however, always attract crowds if there is an activity going on.

The programme of the Notte Bianca was successful because it contained a good mix of activities, from paid events to the opening of palaces and churches. The three churches opened by Valletta Rehabilitation Project, for instance, had constant crowds. The people, both locals and visitors, are eager to visit new sites.

We now need to go a step further. We need to give more information. You do not only open sites but you also need to inform people as to what they are seeing. But, more importantly, we need to have an annual calendar of events that is published well in advance. I remember saying publicly that it is useless calling a press conference for the Jazz Festival about a month ahead and expect the tourists to plan a visit. Cities that have successful and continuous cultural activities, such as Salzburg, publish a year in advance a programme for the whole year. We do not need to be so ambitious but we do need to make sure there is proper coordination between everyone and that there is a published programme well ahead.

Above all, we must make sure that all the stakeholders are truly part of the whole organisation.

The late Prime Minister Gorg Borg Olivier wrote in an issue of The Times in 1968 that commemorated the founding of Valletta that "deep down we are all citizens of Valletta". As a proud citizen who has always believed in Valletta and lived there, the presence of so many proved how right he had been. Deep down, the people of Malta do love Valletta. More so why we should all be pulling the same rope to make sure that Valletta can be successful.