Thousands of people thronged the Floriana Granaries on Thursday evening for the Isle of MTV – Malta Special which will be broadcast on the music channel in September.

Enrique Iglesias, R&B singer Akon and the group Maroon 5 delighted the crowd with their tunes till the early hours of the morning, making the evening one to remember.

By 4pm, it was estimated that there were around 9,000 people already. Some even camped on the Granaries from Wednesday to Thursday night with the hope that they would be as close as possible to the stage.

The evening began with a performance by local talents Ira Losco, Winter Moods and DJs Ruby, Pierre Cordina, Tony Tony, Miss Roberta and JJoy.

Enrique Iglesias appeared on the stage at around 9pm and sang for 45 minutes. He sang the tracks that made him famous such as Hero, Bailamos and Do you know, among others. While on stage, the signer thanked Malta in the nation’s language and said that he had never seen such a large crowd in his career.

A young Maltese woman’s long hours waiting to find a place closest to the stage paid off as Enrique Iglesias invited her on stage to dance to his song.

She got even luckier when he kissed her on the lips.

Rock band Maroon 5 were next on stage for about an hour followed by RnB singer Akon.

It is estimated that around 166 million people will be watching the music festival on MTV in September. The government has also bought airtime to broadcast adverts promoting Malta as a tourism destination.