Costly L-Istrina set to be reused

An expenditure of almost €60,000 to build the set used during last year’s L-Istrina charity telethon will not be repeated this year since the props will be used again, the President’s office has confirmed.

The expenditure appears in the audited accounts of the L-Istrina 2009 edition, which were published on Tuesday by the Malta Community Chest Fund.

In a note accompanying the accounts, auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers said the costs incurred to put up the main stage set and related support equipment will be used in forthcoming activities related to L-Istrina.

“We wanted to keep audiences glued to their TV sets and so a one-off capital expenditure to have a professional set for L-Istrina was needed. The set will be re-used, with minor changes, but the expenditure will not be repeated,” a spokesman for the President said when asked about the matter.

L-Istrina 2009 collected around €2.4 million in donations with production expenses, including advertising and printing costs, totalling some €200,000. The 12-hour telethon was broadcast from the Lufthansa Technik hangar in Luqa on all TV stations.

The set was the single largest expense. Advertising cost the MCCF some €38,000, while games and entertainment during the show racked up a bill of more than €24,000 while sound and light services, which were subcontracted, cost almost €24,000.