The police have reversed their decision on the aerial fireworks festival for the feast of St Paul, and the spectacle will now take place.

Permits for the aerial fireworks display planned for St Paul’s feast on Friday had initally not been granted, the Ghaqda tal-Pawlini had said.

But the police made contact with the organisation on Friday morning and the decision was reversed.

***

Contacted by The Malta Independent on Thursday, a spokesman for the committee said that the objection had come from Heritage Malta because of a museum that has been set up within the St Elmo Fort grounds.

This museum is 190 metres away from the area from where the fireworks are let off, just 10 metres short of the 200 metres required for a permit to be given.

Yet, the spokesman contended, the law speaks of a 200-metre distance from residences, and a museum is not a residence.

Fireworks used to be let off from near the breakwater, but now there is no time to seek an alternative place. The only option, the spokesman said, is to rent a barge but the bureaucratic procedures are too complicated for a permit to be issued in time.

“We received information that no permit is to be issued only four days before the feast, and we had no time to make alternative plans,” the spokesman said.

The organisation is still holding a pyrotechnic show and ground fireworks to guarantee an alternative show for all present.

This year, the feast will be celebrated on Saturday because 10 February will coincide with Ash Wednesday.