Dance now, vote later: Parties turn final rallies into festival-style events
Political parties have turned to international headline acts to draw crowds for their final events
Both Labour and the Nationalist Party have booked international DJs to play at their final campaign rallies, banking on big names and a festival aesthetic to drum up enthusiasm.
On Sunday, the Labour Party announced that Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren will perform at its final mass meeting at the Floriana Granaries on Thursday.
Its rival the Nationalist Party will have Belgian DJ and producer Dimitri Vegas playing at its mass meeting at the Luxol grounds in Pembroke that same evening.
Van Buuren, one of the world’s best-known electronic artists, is known for tracks including In and Out of Love and This Is What It Feels Like. Labour's event will also feature American singer Ultra Nate, who is known for her tracks Free and Automatic, and artist Daecolm.
The event will also feature a host of local artists: Carlo Gerada, Cliff Zammit Stevens, Darryl, Dodz, Joseph Armani & Denzil, Jjoy, Koroma, Lio, Miggy, Tenishia, Zrinz and Ziggy are all due to perform.
Over at the Luxol grounds, PN supporters will dance to Vegas, who has performed at major electronic music festivals, including Tomorrowland. Vegas is known for tracks Thank you (Not so bad), featuring Like Mike, Tiesto and Dido, and tracks Hey Baby, and Arcade.
Reframing political mass meetings as festival-style rallies with headline acts marks a change in strategy for both parties, which traditionally relied on local entertainment to pump up crowds before and after political speeches.
It is certainly a shift from the 2022 general elections, when COVID-19 restrictions meant party rallies were toned-down affairs.
While the Nationalist Party at the time did not have major music headliners at its final rally, at the Floriana fosos, Labour’s rally that year, held at Ta’Qali’s MFCC, featured several local singers, including Mary Spiteri, Ozzy Lono, and Klinsmann.
Labour's rally in Floriana this coming Thursday - doors open at 5pm - is not its only music-focused event of the campaign's final week.
On Tuesday, the party’s youth wing will host a free “mass rally” at Valletta’s ditch, featuring international DJ Vanco. The event is being promoted as an “after party” and will be held after Prime Minister Robert Abela’s speech at 8pm.
As for the Nationalist Party, its Thursday evening event at the Luxol grounds - which it is calling a “Mass Festival” - will also feature several local artists, including Lamar, Jonte, Ben Purplle, Cieca and the Cassettes, Jessica Micallef, Kurt Calleja, Dom, Gabii B2B Izak, Nikki VP B2B, Pocci and Versatile.
The event will kick off at 4.30pm, with party leader Alex Borg expected to deliver his speech at around 6.30pm. The party has also issued a call for youths aged 16-35 to reserve a spot in the "pit" for Thursday's event.