Carnival might be shorn of the traditional luminous floats next year after organisers yesterday said they would back out of the festival unless the government replied to long-pending issues by Friday.

Għaqda Parteċipanti Karnival president Jason Busuttil said carnival enthusiasts still had no idea whether the celebrations would be held in Valletta due to ongoing regeneration works and the government had not yet issued applications for the construction of floats.

He said that once the ultimatum was up, the association would not be interested in further negotiations and there would be no floats at the next carnival.

Speaking during a press conference, Mr Busuttil said the situation had become unbearable and accused the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts of “inefficiency”.

The council had not yet issued applications for the building of the floats, even if these were usually issued towards the beginning of summer, which meant precious time had been lost.

Enthusiasts also faced problems with the venues allocated to them to build the floats. Fort St Elmo, used by most of the 33 enthusiasts, was in a dangerously dilapidated state, he said.

He said the government was failing to give carnival the attention it deserved and only seemed to be concerned with organising Notte Bianca, and Għana Fest.

When contacted, Parliamentary Secretary for Culture Mario de Marco said it was not an issue whether carnival would be celebrated in Valletta.

The main issue concerned the size of the floats, which may have to be reduced due to the ongoing works. Meetings would also determine the location of audience stands, he said.

Dr de Marco said he was always open to discussion and was confident that a solution would be found.

He said that during the carnival activities, works would be underway on the City Gate bridge and surrounding areas, including the Triton Fountain, where celebrations were held this year.

Furthermore, restoration works on a number of buildings meant that scaffolding would be erected in parts of the capital, narrowing the roads.

While he appreciated that enthusiasts wanted their floats to pass through the streets ofValletta, it was important to discuss the size of the floats.

Discussions were also underway over where the public stands could be placed and areas such as the Granaries and St Anne’s Square were being considered.

Dr de Marco said the government had a long-term plan to find a permanent place to cater for the construction of floats. The proposal to host a carnival village at Ta’ Qali had been dropped and the government was now working on another proposal.