Over 500,000 visited local council cultural events in 2013

Data provided by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage showed that last year local councils hosted 593 cultural events, of which 13.8 per cent were related to cultural visits.

Commemoration days, music and non-direct cultural activities also proved to be popular, each contributing 10.1 per cent of the events organised. Other cultural events, including carnival, arts and fireworks festivals, had the highest share of 18.0 per cent.

Local councils within the Southern Harbour District organised the largest share of events, amounting to 116. This was followed by events organised by local councils in Gozo and Comino, with 112 events.

On average, each council organised 8.9 events. The number of councils organising at least three events increased by 12.5 per cent over the previous year, with the majority having organised five events or more.

December and June were the most popular months for cultural events, with 91 and 71 activities respectively. On the other hand, January was the least popular month with only 13 events being organised.

Events held on an annual basis accounted for 55.5 per cent of the total. The majority of local councils did not hold any town-twinning projects; in fact only 7.1 per cent reported that they did so. Events that specifically targeted children and youths amounted to 8.3 per cent.

Local Councils reported that total attendance for these cultural events reached 563,364 persons, with the majority being free-of-charge.

Historical re-enactment and commemoration days registered the highest attendance of 95,670 and 73,822 respectively. Thirty- nine schools participated in 24 events for schools organised by local councils last year.

Income generated by local councils from cultural events amounted to €527,578, of which 64.6 per cent were government funds. Local councils within the Southern Harbour District earned most of these funds, with a share of 39.1 per cent of the total