Malta Fireworks Festival

In most countries, setting off fireworks is restricted to just one or two dates on the calendar, Chinese New Year, the 4^th of July for the Americans and Guy Fawkes’ Night for the British. The Maltese, however, are not nearly so discerning when it comes to lighting up the night sky. They'll take absolutely any excuse to set off some eardrum bursting explosions!

Every village has a festa during the summer and every festa is accompanied by loads of fireworks, so there arescores of dates right there. However there are also a few special nights in Malta when the skies above the island are lit up with the biggest displays of pyrotechnics imaginable.

Admittedly, these are mostly unpredictable and happen when one of the firework factories explodes but there is the one event can you can put in your diary and get along to enjoy. The Malta International Fireworks Festival!

This takes place over a weekend in late April every year, when you can experience some of the best fireworks displays in the world.

The festival - organised by the Parliamentary Secretariat for Tourism and the Malta Tourism Authority - is held at Grand Harbour in Valletta – the ideal setting for such a magnificent event. It includes firework displays designed by some of the best local factories, as well as at least two foreign pyrotechnic companies.

The event usually features fireworks displays synchronised to music as well as a series of competitive displays by Maltese producers. It forms part of the anniversary celebrations of Malta's accession to the European Union in 2004. But fireworks in Malta have a long tradition, which goes back to the time of the Order of the Knights of St John in the 16^th century.

The ‘feu de joie’ and other forms of fireworks originated from explosives that were lit off from mortars as a form of rejoicing. Fireworks developed into a craft when the Maltese started to use them to celebrate events in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The general public is invited to view the Malta Fireworks Festival completely free of charge. The best place to view them is probably from Barriera Wharf, Upper Barrakka gardens or Ta' Liesse in Valletta, but there are plenty more vantage points where you and your family and friends can settle down to have a great evening full of ‘ooooohs’ and ahhhs’! An outside table on the Valletta Waterfront with a beer in front of you will take some beating!

Some lucky people even watch it from their yachts while others hire a vessel for the night. It is truly magical sitting in a boat, sipping a glass of wine and nibbling on a snack, while watching the fireworks set the sky ablaze!