It is definitely true that the commercial community in Valletta “did not believe (Notte Bianca) would be so successful” (TMID, 17 October).

I chose to have a different evening out with my family. We had not been to Valletta on a Saturday night for ages and thought the activity was the right time to try again.

But when we arrived there at about 9.30pm I immediately realised that it would have been nearly impossible to get a meal.

Restaurants were full to the brim and many were turning people away, or discouraging them by telling them that they had to wait for more than an hour to find a table. We desperately searched for a place to eat but we soon realised that some of the restaurants were simply closing down because they ran out of food.

All this proves that nobody expected such a massive turnout for the event. I trust that Valletta businessmen will not complain about the activity generated last Saturday. But, next time, they should be better prepared to face the massive influx of people.

It was a chance that they missed.

Paul Saliba

Hamrun