Encounters

The opening ceremony of CHOGM on November 25 and the first executive session will be held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre (MCC) in Valletta, the former Sacra Infermeria of the Knights of St John. Its general manager, Nello Iraci, explains how the MCC is handling the meeting.

Preparing for CHOGM

"We had already planned to carry out 18 restoration projects before it was announced that CHOGM was being held in Malta. However, we have completed it in around 11 months instead of the scheduled two years and everything was finished last August before the conference season began.

"One of these projects, the chapel, will be used by Queen Elizabeth II while she waits for the leaders to take their places for the opening ceremony. It will of course be appropriately decorated for a Queen though it has to be in keeping with the surrounds of a chapel.

"Security is obviously a very important issue and is in the hands of the Maltese forces. We will abide by their rules and have offered advice wherever we can. But they have been here several times to take a good look at the place. Security will be very tight during that period."

First impressions

"The delegations that have already visited have all said the place is wonderful and the Commonwealth secretary-general (Don McKinnon) said he was very impressed with the venue. But most of the people who walk in here are taken aback by the beauty of the place. The building is big enough for a conference of this magnitude and we can also segregate areas if need be.

The event

"There will definitely be a spectacular show as there is a need to project Malta across the world. This is a showcase for the MCC and the island. We are co-ordinating everything with the CHOGM taskforce and everything, including the stage for the performance, will be ready on time, in the same way that everything else has been done on time. A lot of planning has gone into it, though certain things are bound to crop up at the last minute.

"Of course, the People's Forum will be held here first on November 20 and there will be an exhibition for three days open to the public. A number of workshops will be held during this time when all the halls, except for the Republic Hall (where the opening ceremony will be held), will be occupied.

"We also have the Business Forum gala dinner in the La Valette hall on November 22, which means we have to take down the set up for the People's Forum, set up for the dinner, and then have everything back in place by the following morning. Then the People's Forum will come to an end and we will start preparing for the main conference.

"We have 10 members of staff though we will get more for the occasion if needed. I am not so worried about that and the staff has been very co-operative. But the MCC will be closed from November 23 till the opening ceremony."