New Year’s Eve parties featuring top DJs and open bars are facing an uphill struggle to keep up with the free-of-charge celebrations being organised in Valletta.
Organised for the first time in 2010 by the Valletta council in collaboration with G7 Events, the open-air event proved to be an instant success, and last year some 25,000 people flocked to the capital.
This year crowds are expected to soar even more, as the organisers are pledging to present the best show ever, with the highlight being the 3D countdown at St George’s Square where some 15,000 revellers are set to celebrate the start of 2015.
The trend now is for people to flock to Valletta and get their own bottle of champagne to join in the mass celebrations
The programme features a performance by popular Maltese band Red Electrick, the Danusan comedy and musical show at the open-air theatre and a children’s area at De Valette Square.
Meanwhile, open air celebrations this year will be spreading to the north, as the Mellieħa council will be organising its own festivities. The highlight of the event taking place at Parish Square will be a synchronised fireworks display at midnight.
In contrast, two major venues renowned for hosting large-scale events including end-of-the-year parties – the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta and the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali – will remain shut as no event was booked.
According to Owen Spiteri, from G7 Events who has been in this line of business for some 20 years, the advent of mass celebrations in the capital brought about a major shift in the way people mark the start of the new year.
“The trend now is for people to flock to Valletta and get their own bottle of champagne to join in the mass celebrations, in similar fashion to what happens in other capitals around the world,” Mr Spiteri said.
Figures from Transport Malta show that from 12.15am to 12.30am there is a mass exodus of youths from Valletta, who take the bus to Paceville where they spend the rest of the night, he added.
Until 2010, Malta had the unenviable reputation of being one of the few countries where the streets of the capital were completely dead on the most important night of the year.
In spite of their often hefty entrance tickets, certain private New Year’s Eve parties used to attract thousands of people but nowadays they are not so popular, the G7 representative said.
“Up to a few years ago there used to be some 10 parties at one go, but this number has gone down as people are looking for something different and unique,” Mr Spiteri said.
One common complaint at the time use to be that open bar events never lived up to the billing, as more often than not one would still have to go through an ordeal to get a drink.
Another party organiser who preferred to remain anonymous also acknowledged that the Valletta celebrations had an impact on the leisure and entertainment industry.
“This year we decided to move away from the traditional open bar party to a more formal event in the form of a reception at a prime site in the capital,” he said.
However, he did not subscribe to the view that open bars encouraged binge drinking, increasing the risk of crowd trouble.
“The media campaigns had a huge positive effect and the fact that no major traffic-related incidents occurred on Christmas Eve was testament to this,” he argued.