More than 317,000 people have attended events organised by Valletta 2018 since the opening ceremony last December, chairman Jason Micallef said this morning.

Addressing a press conference on the first half of Valletta’s year on Europe’s cultural throne, Mr Micallef said it had already proven to be “the biggest year for culture since the island’s Independence”.

Valletta2018 on Monday published the results of a series of surveys on cultural participation, perceptions of the cultural scene, and the economic impact the cultural foundation was having on the island.

Mr Micallef said around 200 events had already been held since the opening ceremony, giving space to around 1,600 artists - more than 1,000 of whom were Maltese.

The chairman said Valletta 2018 had attracted some of the largest crowds the capital had ever seen. Some 110,000 people had shuffled into Valletta for last December’s opening ceremony alone.

Figures collected by national authorities, he said, showed how the creative industry had gone from employing around 8,000 in 2014 to more than 12,000 today - 90 per cent of these jobs, he added, were in the private sector.

The main measure of success? According to Mr Micallef that was cultural engagement.

“People who may not have wanted to visit museums or attend operas or other cultural events because they felt it was above them, today are changing their perspective thanks to community outreach projects,” Mr Micallef said.

Graziella Vella, the foundation’s head of research and data collection, said Valletta 2018 had been working with JobsPlus, the Malta Tourism Authority, and the National Statistics Office to collate as much data as possible on the Capital of Culture.

For instance the foundation has been drafting an audience profile, in a bid to improve outreach, trying to understand what the title’s impact was on the country.

Valletta 2018 had also been collecting data on governance and finance, job creation and economic output, and on Valletta2018 as an overall brand. The full results will be released next March.

An MTA spokesman said the authority had been collecting data through tourist surveys since 2015.

Around 15 per cent of tourists were now coming to Malta for cultural events compared to 9 per cent in 2015.

Just over half knew about Valletta 2018 before coming to the island this year, compared to 25 per cent in 2015 and just 4 per cent said they didn’t know about it by the time they left Malta this year.

Tourists that stayed in Valletta were the most likely to be visiting for cultural reasons. Around a quarter of arrivals in the capital since the opening ceremony came for culture. The figure was around 15 per cent in other localities.

Regular surveys by the NSO found that Valletta residents were much more likely to enjoy public spaces for leisure today than in previous years.

Just over a third of Maltese said they came to Valletta on regular basis for dining - a 14 per cent increase over previous years.

The NSO also interviewed those who said they preferred to stay out of Valletta - particularly those who did not attend cultural activities.

A third said they simply weren’t interested, while a fifth said they were put off by the large crowds.

Despite this, more than 90 per cent of Maltese said they thought Valletta 2018 was an excellent opportunity for the island.

The same amount said they were “proud” that Valletta was the European Capital of Culture and a majority do not think it has been a “waste of money”. In fact a similar majority said they thought it was going well.

Back in 2014, around 65 per cent of Maltese knew about the capital of culture crown; today that figure has risen to more than 90 per cent.

Figures compiled by State employment agency Jobs Plus, showed how around 12,000 people were directly or indirectly employed in the cultural sector.

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