L-Aħħar Festa celebrations: the Valletta 2018 Official Closing

The European Capital of Culture year has officially come to a close tonight with a huge celebration in Valletta.

This event marks the end of a successful cultural programme carried out by the Valletta 2018 Foundation, which saw more than 400 events happening across Malta and Gozo in 2018, an attendance of over 400,000 people and a boost to the cultural, social and economic infrastructure throughout Valletta. Throughout the European Capital of Culture year, the Valletta 2018 Foundation collaborated with over 1,600 local and international artists. Most international artists hailed from European countries such as France, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Poland and the United Kingdom, to mention but a few, as well as artists from other countries from North and Central Africa and the Middle East.

Many people gathered in Valletta on Saturday to enjoy a spectacular line-up of live performances by Tribali, the Brass House Unit, Ozzy Lino, DJ NeoX and Moveo Dance Company on the main stage at St George’s Square.

The open day at MUŻA, the newly opened National Museum of Art, was also a huge success, with thousands of people visiting the museum for free throughout the day.

L-Aħħar Festa joins the list of large events in the city organised by the Foundation, including the Valletta 2018 Official Opening, il-Festa l-Kbira, the Valletta Green Festival and the Valletta Pageant of the Seas, which together recorded an attendance of over 350,000 people.

During 2018, more than 5,000 people attended a number of music-related events organised by Valletta 2018 throughout the year. These included live concerts in genres ranging from jazz to classical to opera to hip hop, which took place in several localities in Malta and Gozo. Valletta 2018 also held its very own opera season, consisting of three operas: Aħna Refuġjati, Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salty Sea and the Orfeo & Majnun Music-Theatre Performance. Together, these three operas recorded an attendance of over 4,700 people.

The Valletta 2018 Cultural Programme also included a number of projects which involved community members, children and the elderly. Most of these events took place in several localities in Malta and Gozo, in collaboration with local councils and primary schools. These included Altofest Malta, Solar Cinema, Magna Żmien, Ġaħan 18, The Strange Travels of Señor Tonet and Años Luz. More than 3,000 community members also took part in Orfeo & Majnun: Sfilata fil-Kapitali, with participants varying from musicians, dancers, animal-builders and movers, storytellers and other performers.

The Valletta 2018 Foundation would like to thank you for participating in this remarkable European Capital of Culture journey with us. The year couldn’t have been a success without you!

 

Valletta 2018 Premium Partners: General Soft Drinks Co. Ltd., Coca Cola, Bavaria and Bank of Valletta