New regulations issued by the government have clarified the situation about alcohol sales at concerts and other places of entertainment.
A legal notice provides that in venues where people under 17 years old are admitted, outlets selling alcoholic beverages have to be physically separate and access to them will be restricted to people aged over 17.
The police may request a guarantee of up to €50,000 from such outlets to ensure that they do not sell alcohol to minors.
The legal notice also says that the Police Commissioner may refuse permits for concerts or dance parties when the artistes have a criminal record.
(Snoop Dogg, the start in the recent Isle of MTV concert, has a range of convictions for drug-taking and is banned from countries such as Australia and The Netherlands). He was acquitted of murder on grounds of self defence.
As the government plans to “harmonise” complex and draconian alcohol sale laws, concert organisers are seeking ways to sell alcohol during the summer season.
The issue came to the fore last April when, in an unprecedented swoop, the police decided to stop alcohol sales during a concert by British singer James Blunt. The police interpreted a 1995 legal notice banning the sale of alcohol where minors are present as also applying to a concert venue.
It was reported earlier this month that organisers of a concert featuring Italian artist Zucchero – scheduled for July 30 – were circumventing the potential brush with the law by not selling tickets to anyone under 17 years, so as not to have any difficulty stocking the bars with alcohol.
But concert organisers NnG Promotions weretaking a different approach, on grounds that minors should not be banned from events, such as the Joseph Calleja concert being held on Saturday, which aims to bring opera to young people.
Instead, promoter Nigel Camilleri explained, the organisers of the concert being held at the Granaries in Floriana will attempt to fall into line with the interpretation of the law adopted by the police during last Thursday’s Isle of MTV party.
Since the MTV party was a free, public event (like village feasts) it did not fall into the same legal category as the paid-for outdoor concerts. Therefore, alcohol was sold from kiosks in the street and each vendor was responsible for not serving to minors.
“But there were also elevated segregated areas serving alcohol which were ticketed by invitation and where minors were not allowed,” Dr Camilleri said, as he planned to adopt a similar concept for Saturday’s concert and the Carlos Santana concert on July 24.
“I assume we could do the same thing... otherwise it would be discriminatory to my mind. But we have to see what the police will do,” Dr Camilleri said.
He added that this was a system which NnG Promotions had proposed during the James Blunt concert but the Valletta Waterfront was not an appropriate venue to have separate bar spaces.
He insisted that at a “controlled event” like a concert – where people are not allowed to bring in their own alcohol – the onus should be on the organisers and bar operators to ensure no alcohol is served to minors.