Editorial: Malta for sale: one billboard at a time
Malta’s skyline is already dominated by construction cranes and blocks of apartments. Must its roads also be overwhelmed by advertising?
Street billboards, sprouting by the dozen along arterial roads, have become a stark symbol of what Malta has become: a place where commercial and political gain wins over everything, from aesthetics to public safety to even basic respect.
They are literally uglifying the island and the cumulative effect is not just visual clutter but a creeping sense of neglect, as though the island itself has been reduced to one large advertising platform.
The regulatory framework governing these billboards only adds to the frustration. While 2016 regulations require permits from the Planning Authority for roadside billboards, political advertising enjoys a glaring exemption. Such billboards do not require planning permission, provided they are erected within three months of an election or referendum.
Which explains why Malta has already been littered with political billboards and streamers just hours after the May 30 election announcement. Expect the entire island to be saturated with slogans, faces and self-congratulatory messaging that drivers cannot escape for the next few weeks – whether you like it or not! Can you imagine being a tourist and being driven through Malta for the first time?
Just to compound the eyesore, Malta has never excelled in the creativity of outdoor advertising. Unlike the often witty and visually engaging campaigns seen in countries like the UK, local billboards rarely rise above the mundane.
The political party Momentum has rightly pointed out that the proliferation of billboards touches on public safety, the rule of law and equitable access to public space. Bright, illuminated displays can distract drivers, particularly on busy or poorly lit roads. Questions also remain about the structural integrity and legality of many billboards as well as their encroachment on public land.
Malta’s approach stands in stark contrast to that of many European countries. In France and Germany, advertising boards are largely prohibited outside urban areas, especially along major roads and motorways. Similar restrictions exist in Denmark and Finland, where free-standing roadside billboards are often banned to preserve natural landscapes. These countries recognise that public space is not merely a space sold to the highest bidder.
Even more striking is the example of Grenoble, which, in 2014, became the first European city to ban commercial street advertising altogether. The municipal government sought to “un-brand” the city, removing 326 advertising signs and replacing them with trees and community noticeboards. The rationale was simple: public space should serve the public, not advertisers.
Such a measure, is, of course, unimaginable in Malta, where economic considerations too often override everything else. Billboard fees remain relatively low and, since Legal Notice 36 of 2018, there is no fixed limit on how many billboards can be erected along a given road. Earlier proposals to cap their numbers were quietly abandoned. We recall a time when the Planning Authority pledged to come down hard on illegalities. Of course, those promises never came to fruition. The message today is clear: regulations exist but enforcement and political will are lacking.
Malta’s skyline is already dominated by construction cranes and blocks of apartments, eclipsing our beautiful history. Must its roads also be overwhelmed by advertising? Is there any part of the island that cannot be commercialised?
Of course, we are not calling for the abolition of advertising but this is simply a call for balance, restraint and respect. Citizens deserve roads that are safe to drive on, landscapes that are not overwhelmed by visual noise and public spaces that are not monopolised by those with the deepest pockets or the loudest messages.