As Valletta gears up for the longest night of music and culture, the organisers of Notte Bianca on Friday announced the final logistical preparations to ensure the ever popular festival runs smoothly.
The capital will be transformed into “an artistic canvas” throughout Saturday evening as over 70 multidisciplinary projects featuring more than 350 local and foreign artists take to the streets, squares and myriad buildings of Valletta showcasing music, dance, theatre and more.
Speaking at St George’s Square on the eve of the event, Festivals Malta chairman Aaron Zahra said he was looking forward to seeing Valletta “in a wonderful atmosphere”.
“We have several high-quality artistic projects as part of this year’s programme, and I encourage all those who have arts and culture close to their hearts to join us,” Zahra said.
Each performance is categorised into a particular artistic route so that audiences can plan their evening itinerary better using the interactive map on the Festivals Malta website.
One of the largest events in Festivals Malta’s portfolio, Notte Bianca typically attracts thousands of visitors. Transport Malta will be operating special bus services for the night with 18 special routes between 11pm and 2am alongside the regular night services.
Zahra highlighted the importance of safety, especially for children, urging parents to keep a form of identification on their children and to use public transport as much as possible.
Tal-Linja will have several dedicated routes for Notte Bianca to facilitate the use of public transport, while the Gozo Fast Ferry, will extend its services with a final additional trip from Imġarr Gozo to Valletta at 11:30pm and Valletta to Mġarr Gozo at 00:30am. The Valletta Ferry Services, which include the Three Cities and Sliema ferries, will extend their services until 2am.
The organisers pointed out that on Saturday Valletta will not be accessible by private vehicle after 4.30pm. Residents will be able to enter the capital city only on presentation of their identity card