Fireworks will light up the skies in several localities in Malta and Gozo tonight as festa activities reach their peak with the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady.
One of the biggest displays tonight will be at Mqabba, where enthusiasts plan to turn on the style with a display synchronised to film scores.
This year's musical themes take their cue from the 40th anniversary of man's landing on the moon with, among others, Richard Strauss' ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra', made famous in ‘2001 - A Space Odyssey', and Vangelis' ‘Chariots of Fire'. The Grand Finale will be synchronised to a medley of Beatles songs adapted by Arthur Fiedler. A ground fireworks display in the village square will also be held.
The St Mary Mqabba Fireworks Group were the first winners of the Malta Fireworks Festival in 2006 and went on to win the ‘City of Light' World Fireworks Championship in Rome in 2007. The same group provided the fireworks displays for the Commonwealth summit in Malta in 2005, the introduction of the euro last year, and this year's official celebration of the fifth anniversary of Malta's accession to the EU.
Fireworks are an important element in the typical Maltese village festa. Maltese fireworks have been developing rapidly in the last few decades, with some localities also using computerised systems to fire the hundreds of colourful petards that characterise night aerial displays. In Mqabba tonight, the FireOne computerised system will be used, a same system which is popular abroad, including in Australia for the New Year Sydney Bridge show.
Enthusiasts start producing their fireworks in the autumn and dedicate many hours every week. Costs run into thousands of euro. One evening's show can easily cost in excess of €50,000.
Most of this evening's shows start at 9.30 p.m.