A meeting is being held later on today between the Malta Tourism Authority and the owners of a wooden kiosk at the bottom of Ghajn Tuffieha Bay to iron out a misunderstanding, Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella said this morning.

The kiosk owner yesterday filed a judicial protest following instructions from the police to keep the property closed and not to go near it next weekend, because of the Malta Fireworks festival.

But Mr Vella said this morning that there seemed to be a misunderstanding because the kiosk was only being asked not to operate between 7 and 11pm on Sunday, when it was not unusually open.

To compensate, the kiosk would be providing the catering for those taking part in the contest, he said.

Mr Vella was speaking during a visit to a field in Marsaxlokk from where fireworks will be lit tomorrow, the first day of the festival.

Setting off the fireworks will be Spain, Italy and Mount Carmel fireworks factory of Zurrieq. Mr Vella, who is from Zurrieq, spent some time conversing in dialect with the Zurrieq volunteers.

He spoke about how the fireworks industry in Malta had grown and how much it had become appreciated. It was now an event people looked forward to, he said.