Updated 4.45pm
An international video gaming festival being held this weekend was suspended on Saturday due to weather damage at its Ta' Qali venue.
Organisers of the Malta Esports Festival took the decision after strong winds broke lifted a 10-metre long door at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali and smashed it up "like dominoes".
The event resumed in the afternoon, organisers said.
North-westerly winds reaching gale force speeds are expected to blow across the island throughout Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday.
Around 300 foreign gamers were expecting to participate in the second day of the three-day Malta Esports Festival, currently in its seventh edition. Players attending the event are normally aged between 18 and 20 years old.
Esports - competitive video gaming - is one of the world's fastest growing industries.
Andre Mizzi, who serves as a director at organisers GMR Entertainment, said they had called off the event after getting word of the damage.
Although doors were broken, the tent structure was undamaged and the equipment inside is still in place.
Mr Mizzi said that MFCC had already expressed concerns about the worsening weather on Friday and had urged the organisers and players to wrap up the first day of the festival earlier than planned.
Organisers informed the 25 Call of Duty teams and 90 Tekken 7 players on Twitter about Saturday's cancellation and players have been spreading the message across their networks.
Teams and players had taken the bad news well, Mr Mizzi said.
“The teams and players have been very supportive,” he said.
Asked if there was a possibility that they could shift the contest to another venue, Mr Mizzi said it was just too short notice to move all the equipment and to find a place that could accommodate them.
Mr Mizzi instead explained that they were now waiting for the weather to calm with the hope that they can continue later in the day.
“We’re waiting for the weather to calm down with the hope that we could possibly continue. If that happens, we will be informing the players directly,” he explained.
MFCC chief executive officer Anita Mifsud said that the damaged door had already been replaced and that the festival would resume once winds calmed down.
The venue would allow the tournament to continue later into the night to make up for lost time, she said.
“Our interests are that the tournament goes on and that we avoid any damages. We’re focused on safety first,” she added.