A record of around 85,000 people attended the 15th edition of Notte Bianca on Saturday night, held after a two-year absence because of COVID-19.

Organiser Festivals Malta said the event exceeded all expectations, both in the organisation and in the quality of the productions presented.

The event provided a platform for over 50 productions, produced by a crew of over 300 people and around 548 artists.

This year's program was distributed over seven routes linked to various artforms. The biggest route was the music route, where there were around 20 projects of various genres divided between seven stages, churches, theatres and museums.

A project featured in this edition of Notte Bianca was UNight, which consisted of a collaboration between local artists and artists with Mediterranean, African and Arab origins who gave a multidisciplinary performance in the Gran Salon at the Museum of Archaeology. A project that celebrated unity in diversity through dance and fashion.

Għall-Belt, the installation with traditional Maltese buses, evoked nostalgia. These buses were not just a decoration in Pjazza Tritoni but were part of a project that builds on their history and served as a stage for various theater and dance productions.

Photo: Darren Agius

The Auberge D’Aragon hosted Allegria, a project that fused Għana with the rhythms of flamenco. This project was the result of a collaboration between Maltese singers and a local dance company that specializes in this genre of dance. This was an investment towards the Maltese cultural heritage that is Għana in order to help keep it alive and relevant.