The rock opera Ġensna will go ahead as planned at the MFCC in Ta’ Qali, in spite of Monday’s incident which left a 48-year-old worker critically injured.
The announcement was made yesterday evening by the organisers in the wake of safety concerns raised after a metal structure intended to support lights and other stage equipment toppled over, injuring three workers.
In a brief statement, Ġensna producer David Borg said that the rock opera would go ahead as planned with two performances set for this Saturday and Sunday.
However, sources told this newspaper that part of the tent where the incident took place, which was being used as the backstage area, will not be used and will be sealed off for the entire event.
Nevertheless, yesterday evening’s go-ahead raised some eyebrows due to the fact that the magisterial inquiry into the incident is still under way.
On Monday organisers had immediately ruled out postponing the two performances planned for this weekend. At one point there was speculation that the event could be shifted to the former Malta Shipbuilding hangar in Marsa, as no other venue could hold the expected audience of some 6,000.
However, sources told Times of Malta that such an option was never on the cards due to the tight timeframes.
Hours after the incident, the organisers had issued a statement saying a “permanent structure forming an integral part of the tent” collapsed.
However, this newspaper then found out that this particular structure, in the form of an arch, was not part of the tent itself but a separate feature which had been installed at a later stage by the venue owners.
This was also confirmed by Brooke Nolan from Arena Group, the company that had sold the tent structure to MFCC.
Switching venue never on the cards due to timeframes
“It was designed specifically by the MFCC to allow them to hang lighting and PA equipment, but is not part of the tent itself,” the spokesman insisted.
The structure, called RS Marquee Arch, had been installed in 2007 by Right Structures, a subsidiary company of MFCC.
On its website the company says the arch system has a rigging capacity of up to 30 tonnes and can even be shifted to and fro along the venue if placed on wheels.
The incident also stoked a debate on social media about the levels of security in public venues used for mass events, such as theatres and conference centres.
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority on the Ta’ Qali is investigating the incident but a spokesman told this newspaper its role was limited to ensuring the safety of workers. Issues of public safety did not fall under the authority’s remit.
Contacted by Times of Malta, architect and planning law expert Robert Musumeci said there was no specific requirement for property owners to release a structural certificate every so often saying that a building or a property was safe. However, the law allowed the minister to introduce such regulations.
Mr Musumeci pointed out that building regulations only required the submission of structural documentation prior to the commencement of structural works. The owner was obliged to ensure that it was structurally safe at any point in time.
Mepa could issue an enforcement notice to the owner or the occupier if its structural condition posed serious risk of injury.