The Floriana local council had considered calling a referendum among residents on whether or not the Isle of MTV concert should be held at the Granaries, Times of Malta has learnt.
According to council meeting minutes seen by this newspaper, councillor Davina Sammut Hili had suggested holding a vote among locals to decide if the event should have been allowed to take place last July.
The concert was thrust into the national spotlight after deputy mayor Matthew Paris threatened to stop the event from being held on the Granaries after the government “abandoned” the town’s New Year’s Eve festivities.
Ms Sammut Hili’s proposal was never carried forward and the suggestion was met with trepidation by other councillors who described the idea as “dangerous”.
Asked what had prompted the idea, Ms Sammut Hili did not confirm she had even made the suggestion. “I can’t be sure it was me who put forward the idea. Either way I am not against the concert happening,” she said, adding that she disagreed with Mr Paris’ “threat”.
Culture Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera had latter rubbished Mr Paris’s comments insisting the council did not have the authority to cancel national activities.
“It definitely cannot withdraw the permit for a national event. If such things depended on local councils several such events wouldn’t go ahead,” he had said.
The council remains split over Mr Paris’ comments. Mayor Nigel Holland said he had not ruled out withholding permits for the concert if conditions were not met. The rest of the councillors, on the other hand, distanced themselves from the suggestion, insisting they were in favour of the event.
In the minutes, Mr Paris had said there were not enough mobile toilets for last year’s event. He claimed the Tourism Authority had pledged more but failed to deliver. After last summer’s concert the council was inundated with complaints about the mess of litter and makeshift urinals along the town’s monuments and street corners.
The council is set to discuss the fate of the concert this evening.