Each year, summer is turning out to be a hive of activities, particularly for those who enjoy music. And it seems that no stone is being left unturned to please as many people as possible – from the youngest to the oldest generations.
This summer, we started off with the Isle of MTV, which has become a regular feature in our calendar, and continued with the Joseph Calleja concert, including the participation of Dionne Warwick and Riccardo Cocciante, after the latter replaced Claudio Baglioni at the last minute. It was then followed up by the Winter Moods concert, one by the evergreen Rod Stewart and will end with the second presence in Malta of Elton John next month.
Other activities, such as the Farsons Beer Festival that was held in Ta’ Qali, provided an opportunity for many Maltese bands and musicians to perform. Next month, the Rockestra event will also be a chance for local talent to perform in front of thousands of people, this time to raise money for less-fortunate people.
Past summers (and sometimes winters too) have been equally filled with concerts that brought over famous singers such as Bryan Adams, Claudio Baglioni, Roger Waters, Zucchero, Sting, Laura Pausini, Michael Bolton, Andrea Bocelli, Simply Red, Gianni Morandi, Robert Plant, Marco Masini, Amedeo Minghi, Lucio Dalla, Eros Ramazzotti, Duran Duran and Umberto Tozzi, not to mention the stars who took part in Isle of MTV concerts such as Enrique Iglesias, Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas and the Scissor Sisters.
It is a long list indeed, with some of the artistes coming over more than once (Iglesias, Baglioni, Masini, Cocciante and soon Elton John too), an indication that they enjoyed the experience.
The concerts cater for different age groups, although it was not uncommon to see 40 and 50-year-olds attending the Isle of MTV concert and teenagers at concerts given by singers who, generally speaking, please the older generations.
The large attendances at each concert also indicate a thirst for such activities, and the organisers have also come up with the idea of changing venues – both as an experiment to find locations that could be more ideal than others (and this includes parking facilities to make it easier for patrons to make their way there) and also to give a different experience.
For example, the Joseph Calleja concert moved from the Luxol grounds in St Andrew’s to the Granaries in Floriana, and there is no doubt that the organisers will analyse the two activities and the difficulties they encountered in each before deciding on where to hold the next one. Who knows, maybe they will opt for a third venue if, as promised, the Maltese tenor continues to delight his local audience with another concert next year.
Such concerts are a big headache for the organisers – and this year, in particular, the weather played havoc with the Joseph Calleja and Winter Moods concerts, forcing NnG to postpone both events.
But on the whole all of them have been successful – some more than others – and all help the economic wheel to continue to turn. Let us not forget that the presence of these music giants in Malta encourages many foreigners to opt to come here for their holidays. Such events help the tourism industry too.
There is, however, one issue that is of concern. The holding of too many activities in a short span of time could mean that some people are forced to choose between events for financial reasons. The cost of tickets for most concerts is not cheap, and having so many of them grouped within two or three months may be one of the reasons why attendances are not as high as they should be.
Organisers should look into this situation carefully and plan things out better.