Summer 2011 was ushered in on Tuesday with La Fête de la Musique, a concert held in Merchants Street, Valletta attended by about 1,000 people.

With the first edition of World Music Day having taken place in Paris, in 1982, the event has since been exported to all Francophone countries and beyond and hosted in major cities and capitals worldwide. This year, Malta was the chosen port of call.

Presented by the Parliamentary Secretariat for Tourism, the Environment and Culture, the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, the Malta Tourism Authority and the French Embassy, the purpose of this event was to celebrate the longest day of the year through music, turning it into the longest most enjoyable night of music and dance.

The highlight was definitely the concert by popular French multi-instrumentalist, singer and song writer Matthieu Chedid who’s been dubbed “one of France’s most creative and most talented singers of his generation”. The French singer was accompanied by five of his musicians.

Throughout his musical career, Mr Chedid, who performs and records under the stage name M, has collaborated with a number of artists, both on stage and in the recording studio.

Early into his solo career, Mr Chedid was the opening act for Texas concerts.

He has recorded with NTM, Sinclair, Billy Ze Kick and, more recently, with Brigitte Fontaine, Sean Lennon and Vanessa Paradis.

The concert also featured popular Maltese performers Ira Losco, Xirka Rock Band, Chris and Moira and Mark Spiteri Lucas and band.

The Malta Police Band and the band of the Armed Forces of Malta performed in the streets of Valletta in the morning.