Scouts, girl guides hold annual parade

Thousands of scouts and girl guides marched into Valletta yesterday for their traditional annual rally.

Accompanied by 11 scout bands, over 4,000 youngsters marched along Republic Street, through Palace Square and then on to Castille Square.

Forty scout groups and 26 girl guide companies took part in the parade, which this year was postponed by two weeks because it was going to clash with the feast of St Publius, in Floriana.

The scouts and girl guides used to hold two different parades to celebrate their respective patron saints - St George and St Joan of Arc. Scout Association spokesman Mario Calleja said the Maltese scouts had been holding the annual parade for decades but only recently had they been joined by the girl guides, making the parade one of the biggest on the island.

The parade kicked off with Mass at St Publius parish church, in Floriana. Scouts and girl guides of all ages took part, with the youngest being five years old. Also marching were members of the Scout Fellowship, made up of retired scouts.

The Scout Association was set up in Malta in 1908 and Mr Calleja said it was the first association to be formed outside the United Kingdom.