Bring over more mega stars

The Elton John concert at the granaries, in Floriana was a resounding success: over 12,000 people aged from 10 years upwards enjoyed an evening of entertainment from one of the world's top musicians. For once, the granaries saw a large crowd that enjoyed a non-political evening.

This took place despite the many obstacles posed by certain individuals and local authorities. Praise must certainly be given to NNG Promotions for their highly professional approach to scheduling this event and for pulling it off, not only without a hitch, but for not allowing a number of barriers to prevent them.

Word has it that Elton John's crew were so impressed with the faultless organisation of the event they commented that "it was a real pleasure to include Malta in the world tour".

It is a shame that more support and encouragement is not given to talented and highly motivated people such as those behind NNG. Surely it is obvious that events like these are a boost to the tourism industry and the island's economy. We have the venues, the weather and, most importantly, we have a very thirsty market.

Many of the Maltese population are music lovers and not all have the time nor the means to travel abroad to see one of their favourite performers playing live, so why not bring them over instead? The truth is that it is a high business risk depending purely on the attendance of a crowd on the night.

Elton John's remark as he left the stage - "I don't know why it took me 33 years to come to Malta" - can probably be answered by the fact that no one before has wanted to take on the problems involved in scheduling such an event.

I can only add it was a pleasure to be one of the sponsors and I was amazed by the eager response and non-stop phone calls to make reservations for the show. Regardless of the hard work in organising the seating plan, my staff and I were honoured to play a small role in this event.

To NNG promotions I say, well done guys and we all look forward to the next one.