Floriana street party 'need not be in competition' with Valletta new year's bash

“As the parties are in walking distance of each other party goers can flit from party to the next depending on what music and entertainment interests them most,” Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said said at a press conference revealing the details of the Floriana New Year’s Eve party.

Floriana mayor Nigel Holland said that though he was not happy about another party being organised in such close vicinity (referring to the large-scale Valletta New Year's Eve celebrations), he hopes that the two parties can exist simultaneously.

“St Anne’s Street was chosen to host the event rather than the Granaries as the road is sheltered from the wind and in the case of rain some shelter is offered, although forecasts are not predicting rain,” Holland said. 

Dr Mario De Marco said the event would not only serve the people of Floriana but also the entire Maltese population as well as the 30,000 tourists that frequent our island between Christmas and New Year.

“It will also serve small local businesses in the vicinity as people will leave their homes to celebrate the New Year, in the meantime making use of bars and restaurants in the area.”

Government has made available a fund of €250,000 to aid cultural events such as the party being held in Floriana. De Marco said that it is important for small localities to host national activities such as this as it enables the Maltese population to learn about the heritage of towns that are not usually noted as tourist areas, and in turn be able to extend this information to tourists visiting the island.

The party will be begin with a Christmas parade followed by performances by Claudia Fianello, Thea Garrett and J Anvil, as well as a concert hosted by orchestra Big Band Brothers. The night will be presented by John Bundy.

On the stroke of midnight, a pyrotechnic display will be let off and confetti and balloons will rain down on the crowds.

St Anne’s Street will be closed to traffic during this time, though traffic to Valletta may make use of other routes.

Said appeals to people driving to either of the parties not to drink and drive. “So far we have not had any major incidents over the festive season in relation to drinking and driving. It would be nice to be able to say that no major incident occurred throughout the festivities of 2010,” he said.