Well done V18
We would sincerely like to congratulate the Valletta Capital of Culture 2018 organisers for the show they put on last Saturday.
The enormous crowd that flocked to the capital must have been satisfied with the four shows put on and repeated at specific intervals, which allowed everyone to see the event at close quarters.
Far less praise goes to the public transport authorities and the mess they created, especially later in the evening. After urging the public to use public transport instead of private vehicles, they could have at least provided a smooth-running service, and not the chaos, unsupervised queues, and massive delays that actually ensued. Such chaos seems to have become par for the course when it comes to any large, nighttime event in Valletta. In the end, those who
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used their own cars were in fact better off, ensuring that next time, even more people will disregard similar ‘advice’ to leave their cars at home – and who can blame them?
Since Saturday night, the usual naysayers have been hard at work trying to discredit the show’s organisers. The bright sparks have discovered that the acrobatic performance put on near the Tritons Fountain is not a Maltese original at all, but a show that has been put on in many European cities over the past months.
There is nothing to be ashamed of – the source of inspiration was made clear even on the night itself. And it may be that this form of street theatre is in turn derived from other shows. When Liverpool was designated European Capital of Culture some years back, it hosted a Belgian street theatre troupe whose performance featured a large figure towering over the crowds – not unlike Saturday’s show.
Other cities, however, have not shied away from pointing out such similarities; nor have they brought national sovereignty into the equation.
We also congratulate the acrobats who dangled off a crane for hours on end. It was a chilly night on Saturday.
Had it not been for the public transport fiasco, which left so many people with a bad taste in their mouths, it would have been a perfect celebration of Malta’s designation as one of this year’s European Capitals of Culture.
There will be more to say as the year goes by, but there will be plenty of time for that. It would indeed be a pity if 2018 failed to live up to such a promising start.