Numbers can be boring. Admittedly, they weren't my favourite at school. But they are of course important tools and metrics that we need to properly analyse. Today, I am sharing with you a few numbers, which give us a clear idea of the culture and arts scene in Malta in key areas. To summarize in two words - extremely encouraging.

 10 years of Arts Council Malta

A few days ago, together with the Arts Council Malta chairman Albert Marshall, one of Malta's foremost authors and poets, I presided over the 10th year anniversary of the Council. It was a deeply significant event for this Council has managed, in the relatively short period of a decade, to revolutionise Malta's art and culture scene.

Local artists have been, and are being, supported to showcase their immense talents locally and abroad.

Malta has become an important hub in the Mediterranean for culture and the arts, and Arts Council Malta takes credit for this extraordinary achievement.

The Council has, in its pipeline, an astounding 23 financial schemes, totalling a staggering €7 million to support local artists in their creative ventures.

On its 10th anniversary, Arts Council Malta has also unveiled a new and fresh look. I am truly proud of this council and all that it stands for.

Extraordinary success

Heritage Malta is doing an extraordinary job at giving utmost visibility to Malta's key heritage sites. Recently, my office asked for numbers - that is the number of paying visitors at Heritage Malta managed sites in 2024. I don't want to bore you with numbers, but the results are impressive. Here are a few facts:

In 2024, there were 1,642,328 at sites managed by Heritage Malta. That is an increase of 291,511 when compared to 2023, when there were 1,350,817.

The most popular sites, in 2024, were Ggantija Temples with 212,519 visitors, The Grand Master's Palace, with 186,481 visitors, Hagar Qim Temples, 180,782 visitors and Fort St Elmo, 162,451visitors.

This year shall be another busy year for Heritage Malta. It's calendar of events is full of activities aimed towards a wide audience.

It is also encouraging to note that an initiative we had taken to make Heritage Malta sites available to students and the elderly, free of charge, was a huge success. Last year, more than 50,300 visitors, students, and elderly visited the Malta Heritage sites. That is an increase of more than 7,000 visit from 2023 when 43,251 visitors availed themselves of this government initiative.

385,000 viewers

There is absolutely no doubt, and this year's numbers confirm that the Malta Eurovision Song Contest is deeply popular with the Maltese. 385,000 viewers watched this year's edition, brilliantly organised by the Public Broadcasting Services and this year, on popular demand, saw the return of the ever-enthusiastic audience.

I had the immense pleasure of attending both at the preparation stage and on Saturday evening, when Miriana Conte, a young Maltese singer and performer, was crowned this year's winner.

A word of thanks to all participants. You all made this year's edition a successful one.

Now, we look forward to seeing the finals in May. Forza Malta and good luck, Miriana!

Electronic books

Reading habits in Malta need to improve. That is a fact. However, there seems to be a shift in reading patterns, and the results are cautiously optimistic. The Malta Libraries are doing its utmost to encourage the Maltese to read more. But the indications are that electronic books are making significant inroads amongst the Maltese.

For the last 9 years, Malta Libraries made available an app called 'Libby App', whereby the public can comfortably access reading material. This includes electronic books, audio books, magazines, and journals. In conjunction with the National Literacy Agency, Malta Libraries has, as from last year, started to include local publications too, and this has proved to be popular.

In 2024, 91,234 were loaned, which is double the number of electronic books loaned in 2023, when 58,575 were loaned. That is a positive 36% increase on a one-year period.

Certainly, more needs to be done, but hand on heart, I believe we are on the right track.

In Marsa

You may recall that last year, Prime Minister Robert Abela and I announced a mega project for local artists - the Centre for Culture and the Arts in Albert Town, Marsa. This came on the back of the inauguration of MICAS - a huge project making it Malta's first international contemporary art museum.

The Centre for Culture and the Arts in Marsa shall serve as a reference point for local artists and creators and, I would say especially, for Carnival enthusiasts who shall finally have their own working space from where to create their magnificent carnival floats.

The Planning Authority has already approved the plans, and recently, the first calls have been issued to commence the first phase of this ambitious project.

The first phase of this project, a first for Malta, is expected to be finalised by 2027. This phase means a solid investment of €20 million with €15 million from EU funds.

By local standards, this is a huge project over 17,000 square meters of land. Half of it shall be dedicated to carnival enthusiasts.

The strongest growth

None of the above investment, in culture and the arts, would have been possible had the local economic situation been different - and by that, I mean weak.

Malta has a robust economy. One of the fastest growing within the entire EU.

The latest statistics, released by Eurostat, indicate that in 2023, the Gross Domestic Product of our country was the one that increased the most from the regions of all the countries in the European Union.

In 2023, there were 154 regions of the European Union that recorded growth compared to a year before, while there were 85 regions that saw a decrease.

Malta is recording incredible economic growth. We have the highest number of people in employment ever. The lowest unemployment rate in history and as from last month, taxpayers are benefitting from the biggest tax cut ever to be given by a Maltese government.

Malta's incredibly strong economy means that yes, we can invest huge amounts of money in the local arts and culture sector.