The cold snap on Saturday may have jinxed the first edition of Città Magica and the event was deemed a "disaster" by those working in the shops on the night.

The event was coordinated by the Malta Tourism Authority, in consultation with the Valletta local council and the business community in Merchants' and Republic streets. It was aimed at livening up the capital city in what is considered to be a "shoulder month" for tourism.

However, despite their best intentions, the organisers did not manage to attract as many visitors as perhaps was envisaged, especially when compared to the previous editions of the highly popular Notte Bianca, normally held in October.

Karen Muscat, manager of a jewellery shop in Merchants Street, said that although she was in Valletta at one for the afternoon shift, she only opened at 4.30 p.m. because there were not enough people around. She then closed at 10.30 p.m. instead of at midnight, as planned.

Sandra Zammit, a salesgirl at a shoe shop, said they were expecting more people and had advertised the outlet would stay open until midnight. However, like many other shops in the area, the staff switched off the lights and headed out shortly after 10 p.m. The common sentiment echoed by many shopkeepers and salespeople was that the event was something of a flop and even a "disaster" while some said it was "just another Saturday" in terms of business. Many blamed the cold weather and the fact the event was so close to Christmas.

"We had been expecting an attendance similar to Notte Bianca, so we stocked up on food and ingredients," a cafeteria owner in St Lucy Street said, adding that a lot of the stock he bought had to be thrown away because it soon expired.

Another restaurateur said business actually suffered on the night because his regular patrons did not enter Valletta for fear there would be Notte Bianca-style crowds.

The night seemed to have worked miracles for isolated outlets, thanks to their location, however. Paul Lapira, the owner of a wine bar in Merchants Street, was very thankful for the business that the performances, right outside his shop, had attracted to his outlet. He closed at about 3 a.m.

The MTA said when contacted that, considering the adverse weather conditions on the day, attendance was fairly good.

It added it was still "too early to determine whether or not there will be other editions of the Città Magica event and what format they would take".