The first ever X-FM Music Festival will be held at the Gianpula on 23 July. Bob Sinclair chose this festival as part of his Summer Tour, which is a promotional tour of his latest Western Dream compilation album.

This festival includes five distinct music arenas:

• The House Arena headed by DJ Bob Sinclair and featuring local DJs that include Jeff, Bee-G, Mahoney, Steevy Vee and Steve Caesar, accompanied by Malta’s leading percussionist FISH.

• The Rock Arena featuring some of Malta’s leading local artists, including Carrie and Band, Ira Losco, Corkskrew and Fakawi.

• The Ethnic Arena which includes Malta’s leading artists in ethnic and new age music. Tribali, a group of Maltese musicians, will stage live.

• The Latino Arena supported by Fuego and featuring a number of exotic attractions and salsa dancers.

• The R’ n’ B Arena headlined by leading X-FM DJs Oz and Jay as well as Nick Gatt. The R’ n’ B arena is expected to attract an untapped niche to this music festival.

Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, who launched the X-FM Music Festival, said that Bob Sinclair was an internationally renowned DJ, whose presence will give this festival an international flavour. He said that the Maltese public is getting accustomed to prominent foreign artists. He said that international singers, DJs and artists from other fields of the arts are not only entertaining the Maltese public but are also a means of promotion for our tourism sector.

The Minister for Tourism and Culture said that the Maltese government is currently developing a tourism strategy based on tourism segments and on quality. He said that we are also investing in an effort to offer tourists who come to Malta a unique experience and not just “another destination”.