Band clubs, artists lament double standards after Hamrun street party

Hamrun street party in breach of COVID protocols has artists and band clubs hot under the collar as they lament the authorities’ double standards

2 July 2021, 4:14pm
by Kurt Sansone

1 min read

Hamrun Spartans championship celebrations turned into a massive street party in breach of COVID-19 protocols

Artists and band clubs are lamenting the double standards in the application of COVID-19 restrictions on public events after wild celebrations took place in Hamrun on Thursday.

Howard Keith Debono, president of the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association, said he would be holding a one-man protest tomorrow in Valletta to highlight the discrimination against artists.

Debono said that while the entertainment industry was being denied a controlled and sustainable reopening despite several proposals put forward by the MEIA, wild celebrations were allowed to take place in Hamrun.

On Thursday, Hamrun Spartans officially celebrated their Premier League victory and supporters poured onto the town’s main street to celebrate in total breach of COVID regulations and in full view of the police.

The National Band Clubs Association also lamented the two weights and two measures adopted by the authorities in view of the fact that village feasts cannot be held.

“While the association congratulates Hamrun Spartans for becoming the new champions of Maltese football it cannot but show its disappointment at the fact that in this country there seems to be a law for the strong and another for the rest,” the band clubs’ association said.

The association said that the Public Health Superintendent should seriously revise protocols and allow feasts and cultural events to be celebrated in a controlled manner.

Kurt Sansone is Executive Editor of MaltaToday. He was formerly deputy editor of MaltaTod...