Valletta’s streets are turning green over the weekend with 80,000 flower pots and plants set up around the capital at the launch of the Valletta Green Festival on Friday.

A quarter of the plants will remain in Valletta once the festival is over on Tuesday, with the rest donated to local councils to repot in their localities. 

The festival kicked off on Friday as Culture Minister Jose Herrera, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli and Valletta Cultural Agency chair Jason Micallef unveiled a flower display featuring a turtle in St George’s Square Valletta. 

With the theme of "zero pollution", Micallef said the eighth edition of the festival is the largest ever and included shrubs and plants along Republic Street as well as "a small garden" in front of Parliament in Freedom Square. 

Additionally, the rooftop garden at the Valletta Design Cluster will also be open to the public.

The festival also features information stands from Parks Malta and the Water Services Corporation as well as a water buggy, which will be available for the public to refill reusable water bottles in St George’s Square until Tuesday.

Photo: Jonathan Borg

Dalli added that following the festival, the water buggy will be moving to various locations for public use throughout the summer. 

“We want to encourage people to adopt the zero waste culture by cutting out unnecessary plastic as well as promoting good drinking water,” she said. 

Culture minister Herrera said that urban greening was not just a catchword but a commitment that the government wanted to make to citizens. 

“We need to make sure that we are increasing open spaces for families as well as making the best use of our existing public spaces,” he said. 

He added that a quarter of the plants and shrubs would remain in Valletta throughout the year. 

Noting that all the displays in the festival were constructed from recyclable materials, Micallef said that after the festival, leftover flowers and shrubs will be given to local councils to plant in open spaces around their respective localities.

Ten local councils have so far applied with the Valletta Cultural Agency for the plants. Councils will be able to pick flowers on a first come first served basis.