'Lovely' street party fails to draw the crowds

The lack of late-night public transport might have contributed to the low turnout at the New Year's Eve street celebration in Floriana, according to the locality's mayor, who still described the event a success.

The celebration to usher in the New Year in St Anne Street, Floriana's main thoroughfare, did not draw the thousands organisers were expecting but people who attended said it was a "lovely" event and "ideal for families".

Mayor Nigel Holland said the council office was yesterday inundated with messages and calls from people who enjoyed the evening. He could not quantify the number of those who attended but insisted the overwhelming positive reaction meant it was a successful event.

"I was disappointed by the absence of public transport be-cause people kept phoning us till 7 p.m. asking whether it would be available. We even had tourists calling. It was probably a contributing factor to the lack of attendance," Mr Holland said.

He played down the controversy that ensued the day before the event when the police objected to the road's closure because of traffic concerns.

Mr Holland said there were various occasions when St Anne Street had been closed to traffic.

"Some years ago it was closed for the whole day when there was the Grand Prix de Malte in Valletta. It was also closed when we organised car-free day and every year during carnival," Mr Holland said, insisting the council did not defy the police.

"Despite their initial objections, we were later informed by the police they would not stop the event. We had argued it was a one-off national event just like carnival. We also had government funding for it," he said.

As for this year's New Year's Eve celebration, Mr Holland said the council wanted to make the event a yearly occasion on the lines of similar celebrations in other cities around the world.

The street party was free and consisted of entertainment on a main stage that culminated into a countdown to the New Year.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com