Carnival celebrations on Sunday afternoon will no longer feature floats as scheduled due to safety concerns, the event’s organisers have said.
Writing on Facebook, organisers said that while activities in Valletta’s St George’s Square would continue, the programme was being “revised for safety reasons”.
While dancers will still appear according to the programme, Carnival floats will not feature as originally planned, a step organisers said had been taken on the advice of authorities.
The programme change comes as Malta continues to experience windy and rainy conditions, with the Met Office forecast showing wind speeds of up to Force 6 at the time of publication, equivalent to up to 49km/h.
A yellow weather warning is in place owing to the strong winds.
The afternoon programme was originally set to see the appearance of ‘Triumphal floats’ from sections A, B and C.
Organisers also announced the cancellation of the 3pm performance of Malta’s traditional street farce Il-Qarċilla in a separate Facebook post.
Sunday’s programme of events kicked off at 10.30am with music performances and competitive dances.
Further programme changes had not been announced at the time of publication.
Carnival celebrations are set to continue until Tuesday, when the Met Office is predicting windy conditions with partial cloud cover, with west-northwesterly and northwesterly winds reaching Force 7 (between 50 and 61km/h).
Yesterday’s brief respite in the weather saw thousands head to Valletta to enjoy Carnival celebrations, which saw costume-clad participants of all ages and towering, colourful floats wind their way through the capital.
For further information, visit the official Carnival Facebook page.