Ticket sales for the Valletta International Baroque Festival last month shot up compared with the 2013 edition.

Half of the 6,815 tickets were taken up by locals and half went to tourists who visited Malta specifically for the two-week festival.

Last year, 5,719 people attended the first edition of the event.

One concert, the Brandenburg Concertos, was fully booked as early as last October.

Teatru Manoel CEO Ray Attard yesterday commended all those who were involved in organising this year’s edition.

“I am very proud of what we have achieved in bringing some of the world’s top names in the Baroque field to perform in Malta, in giving Maltese talent a platform, in giving the public a cultural event to enrich their lives and in helping to increase the number of visitors to Malta during the leanest month for tourism, January,” he said.

The government is investing €300,000 in this festival, but the economic benefit from this year’s edition amounts to more than €3.7 million, Mr Attard said.

“This does not take into account the unquantifiable economic benefits and spin offs from such a reputable brand name that we have created, especially abroad,” he added.

Work is already under way for the January 2015 edition, artists are being contracted and a very interesting programme is already taking shape, he said.

Parliamentary Secretary for Culture Jose Herrera also praised the organisers, saying the success defied an EU survey in November that found Malta had the least cultural participation.

“Seeing all the positive feedback and response towards the programme of events and the high attendance, especially from Maltese patrons, confirms Malta is far from a cultural desert,” he said.