In 2025, 91 band clubs across Malta and Gozo recorded a total membership of 26,683 individuals. This is an increase of 4.8 per cent, or 1,212 members, when compared with 2024, the NSO said Friday.

In 2025, there were 2,038 resident band players and 2,040 trainee band players across all band clubs. Committee members totalled 1,085, while ordinary members numbered 21,520. This reflects a total membership of 26,683 individuals in 2025. Overall total membership increased by 4.8 per cent, or 1,212 members, when compared with 2024. Increases were seen across all membership categories

Women accounted for almost one-third of total band club membership in both 2024 and 2025. Female representation was highest among trainee band players at 38.2 per cent in 2024 and 38.5 per cent in 2025, and lowest among committee members at 12.8 per cent in 2024 and 13.7 per cent in 2025

Nearly all band clubs (95.6 per cent) reported having established a Band Commission (Kummissjoni Banda). The second most common committee was the Youth Committee (71.4 per cent), followed by Fireworks Committees (53.8 per cent). Other commonly established committees included Women (44.0 per cent), Kids (30.8 per cent), Festive Street Decorations (28.6 per cent), Media (14.3 per cent), and Good Friday Activities (6.6 per cent).

In 2025, the number of resident band players increased to 2,038, up by 6.3 per cent from 1,918 in 2024. Similarly, trainee band players rose by 8.7 per cent, reaching 2,040 from 1,876 in the previous year. The South Eastern district recorded the highest number of both resident band players and trainee band players across all districts. These accounted for 21.6 per cent of total resident band players and 39.5 per cent of total trainee band players, respectively.  Male band players continued to outnumber females across both categories. Despite this, the number of female band players increased in both resident and trainee categories when compared to 2024, indicating continued growth in female participation within band clubs.

The number of qualified music instructors increased from 386 in 2024 to 417 in 2025, representing an increase of 8.0 per cent. In both reference years, the largest share of instructors specialised in theory, followed by brass and woodwind instruments. Most qualified instructors were based in Malta, while Gozo accounted for a relatively small but stable share across all musical disciplines.

Band clubs staged over 1,300 performances during 2025, almost one-third of which took place outside the locality of the performing band club or abroad. Volunteers continued to play an important role in supporting band club activities. Compared with 2024, the number of regular volunteers increased by 4.8 per cent, while volunteers assisting during specific periods increased by 5.9 per cent. Growth was recorded among both male and female volunteers.

Band clubs also provided music tuition to students across all age groups. The largest share of students belonged to the 10-17 age group in both reference years. In 2025, this age group comprised 775 students, equivalent to 38.0 per cent of all students receiving music tuition.

In 2025, committee members based in Malta accounted for 88.2 per cent of the total, while those in Gozo and Comino represented the remaining 11.8 per cent. The largest proportion of committee members (39.9 per cent) held secondary-level qualifications, followed by post-secondary qualifications (30.0 per cent) and tertiary qualifications (25.1 per cent). Gozo and Comino recorded the highest proportion of committee members with tertiary education (33.6 per cent), followed by the Northern district (30.2 per cent). 

Total current expenditure by band clubs during 2025 was estimated at over €9.2 million, while capital expenditure amounted to almost €2.5 million. At district level, the South Eastern and Southern Harbour districts accounted for the largest shares of expenditure, at 31.3 per cent and 17.6 per cent, respectively.

Total current income reported by band clubs in 2025 was estimated at €11.8 million. Band clubs in the South Eastern district recorded the highest share of total income (27.3 per cent), while those in the Northern district registered the lowest share (8.9 per cent).