The Isle of MTV concert usually attracts crowds of 50,000. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

The Isle of MTV Malta is barely one month away and the line-up of celebrated artists who should be hitting the Floriana Granaries on June 25 has not yet been announced.

Sources told The Sunday Times of Malta that no artist had yet been confirmed and they were “seriously worried” that the headline acts have not been finalised.

The sources expressed concern that it was too late for promotion and advertising of the event to truly have an impact abroad. The free event draws some 10,000 tourists to the island who would need to book their flights and locate accommodation beforehand.

During the past two years, the headline acts were announced in April, leaving ample time for the promotion of the event to take place. Arguably one of the most attended free open-air concerts in Europe, the Isle of MTV attracts crowds of around 50,000.

Be Viacom, brand engagement division for MTV, generally discusses the line-up with the Malta Tourism Authority to ensure that artists engaged have a local appeal.

Asked why the line-up has not yet been unveiled and whether there currently were any confirmed artists, the MTA said that “the line-up will be announced early next week”.

Asked for a reaction, Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Paul Bugeja said he had not received any negative feedback from hoteliers regarding June bookings.

“This could boil down to the fact that trends in general this year have been much better than last year. Perhaps had there not been the delay in announcing the line-up, they might have been even better.”

The free event draws some 10,000 tourists to the island

In December, the MTA and Be Viacom marked a renewed and improved three-year partnership to produce the open-air concert, which has in the past enticed names like Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas.

Over the eight years the Isle of MTV has been held in Malta, the number of visitors to the island under the age of 24 has increased by 88 per cent and now account for 20.3 per cent of all tourists, the MTA had said. The show also employs many local businesses to provide services related to security, dressing rooms, catering, power supply and cabling, among others. It also relies on approximately 250 employed and voluntary staff.

This year, MRV International and Durex – the world’s leading condom maker – have partnered up in an agreement to raise the profile of their global sex education partnership, ‘Someone Like Me’.