FRANCESCA VELLA
When President George Abela announced the Rockestra concert at the beginning of summer, he borrowed the title of one of Queen’s greatest hit songs with the promise “We will rock you”.
The majority of people who attended seem to have enjoyed it thoroughly, but one thing is certain – the concert undoubtedly rocked the coffers of the Malta Community Chest Fund (MCCF), which made a net profit of e50,000 from the event.
Addressing a press conference at San Anton Palace yesterday, the President said Rockestra will be an annual event on the MCCF calendar and he announced details of another MCCF fund-raising event, The President’s Charity Fun Run, which will be organised on 6 December.
President Abela said L-Istrina should not be the only main showpiece in aid of the MCCF. He said the people’s involvement should be kept alive throughout the year.
Musical events such as Rockestra promote local talent and bring the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (the event was organised jointly by the MCCF and the orchestra) closer to the people for a small e10 donation that went to the MCCF. Children were admitted free of charge, so the exact number of people who attended the concert is not clear. However, it is estimated that about 13,000 people packed the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali for the event, held on 12 September.
Next year, children will still be admitted free of charge, but they too will be given tickets for better organisation of available space. A number of complimentary tickets were given to the companies that supported the event, namely Banif Bank, Bank of Valletta, HSBC Malta plc, GO, Vodafone Malta Foundation, Tumas Group, ETC UK Ltd., and the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre.
Sources told this newspaper, however, that complimentary tickets were also given to Lufthansa Technik Malta and the Public Broadcasting Services, which will be among those helping with the organisation of the L-Istrina fund-raising marathon on 26 December.
Lufthansa Technik has accepted to host the event in one of its new hangars in Hal Farrug, Luqa, while PBS will provide free airtime for the event to be promoted and broadcast.
An exact breakdown of the profit made from the Rockestra concert and the other events will be given when the MCCF financial results are presented next year.
Apart from the profit made from the Rockestra concert, the MCCF made another e30,000 from the traditional August Moon Ball, organised at Verdala Palace on 1 August.
The next event on the MCCF’s calendar before L-Istrina is The President’s Charity Fun Run, the aim of which is two-fold – fund-raising, and promoting exercise as a means of living a better life.
The event is supported by Banif Bank and is being organised by the Office of the President in collaboration with the Malta Amateur Athletics Association and the Health Parliamentary Secretariat in the Social Policy Ministry.
Both President Abela and his wife, Margaret, will participate, though Mrs Abela said she would probably walk, rather than jog.
Anyone can participate, even people who are wheelchair-bound. People who want to walk, or who do not want or cannot run the whole seven kilometres from San Anton Palace in Attard to The Palace in Valletta, would be able to join in at specific points along the way.
The President encouraged companies and associations to join in the fun run and provide their people with T-shirts showing the entity they represent.
Participants will pass through Balzan, Birkirkara, Santa Venera, Hamrun, Blata l-Bajda and Floriana. The group will stop for a while at the Valletta bus terminus to wait for anyone who has fallen behind, before the final run/walk to The Palace.
A T-shirt and a certificate will be given to every participant at the end of the event. Application forms can be obtained online (www.l-istrina.org), from Banif Bank branches, or from the MCCF offices at The Palace in Valletta. The participation fee is e10 (again, a donation to the MCCF).