Msida finds alternative launch pad for fireworks

Msida still managed to celebrate its feast with a fireworks display, after organisers secured a spot to launch the fireworks off the bastions on the Floriana side.

The prospect for enthusiasts looked bleak after the Police Commissioner refused, for the first time in over a decade, to close the St Venera bypass and Regional Road so that fireworks could be let off from a ridge overlooking Valley Road.

The alternative, some are hoping, will be a lasting base. Msida mayor Alex Sciberras, who acted as a mediator between police and the enthusiasts, said: "We hope this could serve as a permanent alternative to the previous place, because we do not need to close any roads to let off fireworks from the bastions."

When asked whether the fireworks displays were covered by insurance, a critical issue now that the petards will be let off closer to the yacht marina, the mayor was unsure, but said he was under the impression that all such activities needed insurance cover.

"Frankly, I haven't gone into that. I simply mediated to see if an alternative solution could be found," he said. Meanwhile, the head of the Msida Pyrotechnics Society, Raymond Sultana, could not be contacted.

As has been the case for the past 11 years, the pyrotechnics society filed a request to close the St Venera bypass and Regional Road.

They were expecting the usual go-ahead before Frank Bartolo, the superintendent at Mater Dei Hospital, launched an appeal to the authorities through The Sunday Times not to allow the roads to be closed as it could have dangerous consequences on the hospital's running.

Msida's Band Club president, Vince Azzopardi, came in for stinging criticism after saying that the road would remain open "over my dead body".