Music lovers heading to the Isle of MTV concert on Thursday will be able to enjoy a cold beer since the law banning the sale of alcohol where minors are present does not apply to free public events, sources said.

However, it is uncertain what will happen at a range of other events scheduled for July, such as the Malta Jazz Festival and concerts by Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, rock legend Carlos Santana and Italian singer Zucchero.

Since these events involve buying an admission ticket, they fall under a law that deals with the admission of minors into places of entertainment. The same law bans the sale of alcohol where under 17s are present.

In an unprecedented move criticised by many, during the James Blunt concert on April 7, the police interpreted the law – Legal Notice 124 of 1995 – as also applying to the concert venue.

Since the concert was open to under-17s, the organisers were ordered to ban the sale of alcohol within the concert precincts, though it was available outside.

Last month, the government said it was planning to change the law prohibiting minors from setting foot inside entertainment venues ahead of the summer to avoid a repeat of the outcry caused following the Blunt concert.

The government entities working on the amendments are the Culture Secretariat, the Small Business Secretariat and the Home Affairs Ministry. They are still having discussions, despite a series of summer concerts around the corner.

The amendments will seek to strike a “reasonable balance” between the interests of adult concert-goers and those of minors, especially where the concert targets a family audience.

In a section entitled ‘admissions age’, the 1995 legal notice states: “Persons under the age of 17 shall not be allowed inside a place of entertainment...” unless the owner applies for a special permit and is then “responsible to ensure that, when persons under the age of 17 are allowed in his place of entertainment, no wines, beers or spirituous liquors are displayed, served or consumed on the premises.”

A lawyer explained this meant that any event open to the public and for which there was no controlled admission, would therefore not be affected by the legal notice and the alcohol ban.

Before cracking down on the Blunt concert, the police had interpreted the restrictions as applying to permanent outdoor clubs. The amendment is intended to still apply the regulation to such clubs but will come up with an alternative arrangement for concerts and festivals, attracting crowds of mixed ages.

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