September 8 is a very important date in the Maltese calendar as it marks the end of the 1565 Great Siege of Malta, the end of the French occupation in 1800 and the end of the Italian bombardment of the Maltese islands during World War II.

On this day, a boat regatta is held in the spectacular setting of the Grand Harbour. The four- to five-hour programme sees the best rowing crews from the cities bordering the harbour participating in 10 races under two different categories.

Rowers from Cospicua, Kalkara, Marsa, Marsamxett (Valletta), Senglea, Vittoriosa and also Birżebbuġa use typical Maltese boats such as frejgatini,  kajjikki and dgħajjes tal-pass and tal-midalji. In the past, these boats were normal working watercraft serving the local harbour.

The first three placings in each race are awarded a number of points and at the end of the regatta, the club with the highest number of points in the respective categories is presented with the Aggregate Shield.

The clubs can be recognised by their traditional colours which include red, white and blue for Birżebbuġa; light blue for Cospicua; green for Kalkara; red and blue for Marsa; yellow for Marsamxett; red and yellow for Senglea; and red for Vittoriosa.

The races can be viewed from the water’s edge of the Three Cities (Vittoriosa, Cospicua and Senglea) or Valletta, and are expected to finish at 6pm. For this occasion, Pinto Wharf 4 and 5 on the Valletta side is open to the public as is the Saluting Battery.