A billboard at Ta’ Qali advertises the 10th anniversary of the concert of the three young Italian singers, Il Volo, on July 19.

This brought to mind Gianni Morandi’s concert in Malta.

Being fans, my daughter and I bought two tickets and, on the day of the concert, we went to Ta’ Qali at the given time, looking forward to meeting and greeting the famous Italian singer. In the foyer, the 100 or so guests were entertained by a band and a local singer playing loud, deafening music that made conversation with friends impossible.

The fans were not even allowed by the security to take photos of the band and singer on stage. In a very short speech by the singer on his appearance on stage, he said how happy he was to be back in Malta and that, during the hour that followed, he was willing to sign autographs, take photos, etc.

However, this was not to be because as soon as he got down from the stage, the security personnel thought they were Paceville bouncers dealing with drunkards and troublemakers. They started pushing aside those who tried to greet Morandi. At one point, a man in his late 60s was thrown to the ground with people almost falling on him. A young lady was crying in pain after someone stepped on her toes.

When my daughter finally managed to be a very short distance away from the singer and about to shake hands with him, a security man yelled at her roughly: “Move away. You have taken enough photos.” In fact, she had taken only two photos of friends greeting Morandi. The situation was really, to say the least, disgusting. Clearly, the organisers failed. Protests could be heard by all.

Thank God, the Italian singer was remarkable in his performance and his fans enjoyed every minute of his two-hour-plus concert.

I sincerely hope such a disorganised organisation will not be repeated as it showed lack of professionalism on the part of the organisers who did nothing to provide the meet-and-greet session of the concert.