The summer months in Malta are characterised by an array of festivals and concerts. Some of them have become yearly events with household names which the Maltese public looks forward to and which tourists seek out during their stay in Malta.
BoV Streets Alive is one such event. Nevertheless the importance and variety of the programme it offers in relation to competing activities have yet to be determined.
Although there was an unforgettable atmosphere (on the last of the three nights at least) it was mainly due to the bars, restaurants and clubs that extended their seating space to the main streets in Valletta - thus altering the usual dynamics of the shop-filled streets into a wining and dining experience al fresco. Practically all the tables in Republic Street were occupied, with Cadena restaurant also having a musician playing the accordion to enhance the already romantic (yet quite eerily quiet) atmosphere prevailing in Merchants Street.
It was quite surprising, however, to see that there were very few shops open. Most businesses could probably have benefited from the hundreds, if not thousands, of people who flocked to Valletta for one or more of the organised events. The last Friday in the three-week series of events saw a particularly high number of visitors; many of whom were trying to hit two birds with one stone by also attendants the Delicata Wine Festival.
The BoV Streets Alive provides a welcome change to the quasi sinister silence which reigns through the capital as soon as the shops close and all the Valletta workers head home.
The car shows seemed to provide the major attraction: Freedom Square was practically littered with flashy, vintage and classic cars which one rarely gets the opportunity to see, concurrently at least. The carowners were even generous enough to allow passers-by to open and sit in their cars. Many a girl tried out what could only be described as a pin-up pose, that is minus the period costume and hairstyle. Through a sea of ohs and ahs, some were even lucky enough to see a shiny silver Corvette whizz past, purring seductively in the night air.
The environment couldn't be any more different in St George's Square, where a display of uber-modified cars dominated the quaint surroundings. The ground was shaking to recent and not-so-recent dance tunes, while in the distance one could decipher distinct notes of jazz coming from the band outside Malata.
Martin Morana, events coordinator on behalf of The Valletta Alive Foundation, said that the ideal scenario would be for the BoV Streets Alive to be spread across the summer months and not over the limited period of three weeks. The budget for this event, however, was somewhat tight and the option to have the programme spread over three weeks was considered as optimum. He said that the concentrated efforts as well as the length of this year's programme resulted in a more effective turnout.
BoV Streets Alive is an initiative which is meant to encourage the promenading people to come into Valletta, said Mr Morana, who acknowledged that there was still the need to convince the business community to participate in these events and programmes and for them to engage in late-night business. He added that even when closed, many of the principal shops did not entice the public to window-shop because their façades simply looked like garage doors and did not constitute a means of attraction.
Mr Morana assured that next year's programme of events will focus more around Merchant Street, which this year unfortunately seemed quite desolate when compared to the festive and busy atmosphere in Republic Street. Next year, some of the event locations will also be shifted, and the streets will be further animated.
The participating businesses in this year's BoV Streets Alive had mixed feelings in relation to the success and organisation of the events programme. Agenda Bookshop was one of the only shops along Republic Street to be open throughout the three evenings. When questioned, assistant manager Graziella Zerafa felt that Agenda would have fared better if other businesses had participated in the programme. She complained that they received the invitation to participate roughly a week before the three-week programme started and that there was not enough promotion for the event. She said that the lack of other open shops meant that visitors were not in shopping mode and consequently most of the people who ventured into Agenda simply wanted to browse and not buy.
Ms Zerafa also commented on the amount of tourists who attended the BoV Streets Alive events, which at times surpassed the number of Maltese. She also thought that other businesses should have participated because many were those who asked whether there were open shops selling clothes, DVDs or perfumes.
Norbert Ellul, manager of Café Ranieri, felt that there were too many activities going on in other localities outside Valletta during the three-week period of events. He felt that people were given little incentive to come to Valletta when the beer festival posed a more favourable option. Mr Ellul suggested that BoV Streets Alive needed a major attraction in order to lure the crowds to the capital.
On the other hand, Katya Sammut, owner of Kantina Café, said that they could not cope with the great influx of people on the three Fridays, especially during the period of the feast of St Dominic which happened to take place on one of the weekends of the scheduled three weeks.
Charles Briffa, manager at Wembley Store, said that business was not that great for them even though he saw an improvement in relation to last year. He also felt that the choice to reduce the programme from six to three weeks was an improvement. He too felt that there was need for other businesses and shop-owners to participate in such an activity, and that better marketing and overall promotion of the events was necessary to ensure greater success in future years.
Tony Depasquale, BoV's chief executive officer, commented that "what started as an experiment three years ago has evolved into an annual popular programme that draws crowds to Valletta and contributes towards bringing our capital city alive in the evenings".
With this overview and comments in mind, one can only hope that BoV Streets Alive will continue to improve and present a wider variety of events to attract audiences from all walks of life, as well as utilise more vacant and available venues such as the ruins of the Opera House for performances or entertainment purposes.
BoV Streets Alive is one such event. Nevertheless the importance and variety of the programme it offers in relation to competing activities have yet to be determined.
Although there was an unforgettable atmosphere (on the last of the three nights at least) it was mainly due to the bars, restaurants and clubs that extended their seating space to the main streets in Valletta - thus altering the usual dynamics of the shop-filled streets into a wining and dining experience al fresco. Practically all the tables in Republic Street were occupied, with Cadena restaurant also having a musician playing the accordion to enhance the already romantic (yet quite eerily quiet) atmosphere prevailing in Merchants Street.
It was quite surprising, however, to see that there were very few shops open. Most businesses could probably have benefited from the hundreds, if not thousands, of people who flocked to Valletta for one or more of the organised events. The last Friday in the three-week series of events saw a particularly high number of visitors; many of whom were trying to hit two birds with one stone by also attendants the Delicata Wine Festival.
The BoV Streets Alive provides a welcome change to the quasi sinister silence which reigns through the capital as soon as the shops close and all the Valletta workers head home.
The car shows seemed to provide the major attraction: Freedom Square was practically littered with flashy, vintage and classic cars which one rarely gets the opportunity to see, concurrently at least. The carowners were even generous enough to allow passers-by to open and sit in their cars. Many a girl tried out what could only be described as a pin-up pose, that is minus the period costume and hairstyle. Through a sea of ohs and ahs, some were even lucky enough to see a shiny silver Corvette whizz past, purring seductively in the night air.
The environment couldn't be any more different in St George's Square, where a display of uber-modified cars dominated the quaint surroundings. The ground was shaking to recent and not-so-recent dance tunes, while in the distance one could decipher distinct notes of jazz coming from the band outside Malata.
Martin Morana, events coordinator on behalf of The Valletta Alive Foundation, said that the ideal scenario would be for the BoV Streets Alive to be spread across the summer months and not over the limited period of three weeks. The budget for this event, however, was somewhat tight and the option to have the programme spread over three weeks was considered as optimum. He said that the concentrated efforts as well as the length of this year's programme resulted in a more effective turnout.
BoV Streets Alive is an initiative which is meant to encourage the promenading people to come into Valletta, said Mr Morana, who acknowledged that there was still the need to convince the business community to participate in these events and programmes and for them to engage in late-night business. He added that even when closed, many of the principal shops did not entice the public to window-shop because their façades simply looked like garage doors and did not constitute a means of attraction.
Mr Morana assured that next year's programme of events will focus more around Merchant Street, which this year unfortunately seemed quite desolate when compared to the festive and busy atmosphere in Republic Street. Next year, some of the event locations will also be shifted, and the streets will be further animated.
The participating businesses in this year's BoV Streets Alive had mixed feelings in relation to the success and organisation of the events programme. Agenda Bookshop was one of the only shops along Republic Street to be open throughout the three evenings. When questioned, assistant manager Graziella Zerafa felt that Agenda would have fared better if other businesses had participated in the programme. She complained that they received the invitation to participate roughly a week before the three-week programme started and that there was not enough promotion for the event. She said that the lack of other open shops meant that visitors were not in shopping mode and consequently most of the people who ventured into Agenda simply wanted to browse and not buy.
Ms Zerafa also commented on the amount of tourists who attended the BoV Streets Alive events, which at times surpassed the number of Maltese. She also thought that other businesses should have participated because many were those who asked whether there were open shops selling clothes, DVDs or perfumes.
Norbert Ellul, manager of Café Ranieri, felt that there were too many activities going on in other localities outside Valletta during the three-week period of events. He felt that people were given little incentive to come to Valletta when the beer festival posed a more favourable option. Mr Ellul suggested that BoV Streets Alive needed a major attraction in order to lure the crowds to the capital.
On the other hand, Katya Sammut, owner of Kantina Café, said that they could not cope with the great influx of people on the three Fridays, especially during the period of the feast of St Dominic which happened to take place on one of the weekends of the scheduled three weeks.
Charles Briffa, manager at Wembley Store, said that business was not that great for them even though he saw an improvement in relation to last year. He also felt that the choice to reduce the programme from six to three weeks was an improvement. He too felt that there was need for other businesses and shop-owners to participate in such an activity, and that better marketing and overall promotion of the events was necessary to ensure greater success in future years.
Tony Depasquale, BoV's chief executive officer, commented that "what started as an experiment three years ago has evolved into an annual popular programme that draws crowds to Valletta and contributes towards bringing our capital city alive in the evenings".
With this overview and comments in mind, one can only hope that BoV Streets Alive will continue to improve and present a wider variety of events to attract audiences from all walks of life, as well as utilise more vacant and available venues such as the ruins of the Opera House for performances or entertainment purposes.