This year’s Notte Bianca will take place on October 3 in Valletta, with organisers promising a wider than ever range of events as the popular festival celebrates its 10-year anniversary.

Artistic Director Sean Buhagiar said this year’s edition of the festival, which drew 60,000 people last year, would place more emphasis  on events in the lower end of the capital.

Addressing the press at the recently-restored St Mary Magdalene Church this morning, Mr Buhagiar said the focus on the often-neglected area close to Fort St Elmo would open it up to more visitors and align with the festival’s principles of working hand-in-hand with the community. 

St Mary Magdalene Church, until recently a storage garage for carnival floats, will host a choral concert while a large-scale show will be held at the Camerata housing block, developed in conjunction with residents.

Events will also be held at Fort St Elmo and the Mediterranean Conference Centre, while drifting displays will take place on the ring road.

Also speaking this morning, Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said Notte Bianca had established itself as a unique opportunity for emerging artists and for the general public to see Valletta in a new light.

“The goal of the festival used to be to attract people to come to Valletta, but today people don’t need any encouragement,” he said.

“Today, Valletta actually has better recognition abroad than Malta itself, so in that sense we can say mission accomplished.”

The full programme of events is available on www.nottebiancamalta.com