Emanuel Galea, Charles Buttigieg and Joseph Gauci claimed the council did not allow them to set up their kiosks in the usual place during the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The site was to be used by the band club and the feast organisers.

In the counter-protest, Qrendi local council said it sent the kiosk owners a letter in May asking them to apply for a site. This was done because the council was aware that some areas were not going to be available.

The three men were the first to apply for the sites they wanted but were informed that those areas would not be available this year as the council had allocated them to the feast organisers to set up their technical equipment that would enhance the festivities.

Upon being notified of this, the council said the men chose sites that were only 50 metres away from the place they used last year. The council emphasised that it did not offer the kiosk owners a new area. The zone they were asked to choose the site from was the same as the previous years.

The protest claimed Mr Buttigieg had informed the council that he was not interest in setting up his kiosk at this year’s feast. The council stressed that the mayor never personally prohibited Mr Galea and Mr Cauchi from setting up their kiosks in the place they wanted (the one they have been using for the last five years).

He simply drew their attention to the fact that they did not have the permits necessary to set their kiosks up in the same place they used the year before. The counter-protest said regardless of what the council said, Mr Galea and Mr Cauchi still set up their kiosks in the area they used last year. Therefore, they suffered no damages and have no right to ask for compensation.

This, therefore, also suggested that the council did not keep its word to the feast organisers, seeing that it had promised them that particular area. The protest claimed the feast could have been more successful and attracted more people if the organisers had set their technical apparatus in the area they had been promised.

The council demanded the three men stop expecting to be compensated for damages they suffered. If not, the council will be forced to hold them responsible for any damages it itself suffered due to this incident.