It was hot and sticky with hardly any breeze as 100,000 people watched in silence as the Maltese flag was hoisted by a 25-year-old army lieutenant, marking the birth of independence.
In a special second edition to mark the historic occasion on September 21, The Times reported that the arena "erupted into a massive roar of handclapping and cheering as the white and red flag with the scarlet-edged George Cross was caught in the spotlight".
The Governor-General, Maurice Dorman, solemnly declared to loud applause: "I am no longer dependent upon the British government. I, too, am independent now."
Forty-five years later, Major Alfred Cassar Reynaud describes the event as an "overwhelming evening".
Chosen to hoist the flag primarily because he was as tall as the British officer who was to pull down the Union Jack, Major Cassar Reynaud recalls the drill of having to hold the flag for then Archbishop Michael Gonzi to bless it before going ahead with the ceremony.
"The lights in the arena were dimmed and the flag had to be hoisted within seconds," he said, recalling the shiver down his spine as the Maltese flag made it to the top of the mast. It was a moment to cherish, he said, insisting Malta was unrecognisable today from what it was in 1964.
Azzjoni Nazzjonali leader Josie Muscat was then an 18-year-old photographer with the Nationalist Party's newspaper Il-Poplu.
"It was an amazing moment, the fulfilment of George Borg Olivier's dream," he said.
It was the moment Malta had the keys to its own home, he added, recalling how he almost missed out on becoming a doctor because of the cause.
"Had the final exams not been shifted to October, I would not have passed and lost my career because I had dedicated my time to the cause of independence," he said.
In its special edition editorial, The Times mused on the significance of the day: "The date of independence is September 21. This can be coupled with the fact that yesterday was the last day of summer and today is the first day of autumn.
"It is from the summer of British guardianship guaranteed by the Sovereignty of the Crown that Malta has moved into the autumn of independent endeavour."
Prophetic words indeed as independence remained a dull 'autumn' for at least half of the population represented by the Labour Party. Suffice to say that on the night in 1964 a small crowd of Labourites had tried to protest against what they claimed was a "farce".
The division, it seems, has not yet been bridged even though the passion of marking national days has subsided over time.
Major Cassar Reynaud would not be drawn into the controversy of whether Independence Day should be Malta's sole national day.
"I will leave that to the politicians. In the military I learned that there are many ways of compromising and I am sure that if politicians do not dig their heels in they will reach an agreement," he says.
On December 1, 1964, Malta took its rightful seat at the United Nations as an independent country.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com