Instead of asking people to come together for an annual fun run, President George Vella has launched a fundraising event with a more unified walking pace to raise money for the Malta Community Chest Fund.
Planned to be held on November 11, ‘Mixja mal-President’ [Walk with the President] will be replacing this year’s Solidarity Fun Run, Vella told media on Tuesday morning.
The hope is that the annual event will return to the same size it reached pre-COVID.
Due to the pandemic, the President’s Solidarity Fun Run was cancelled in 2020 but made a return in 2021 to smaller groups conducting 58 separate walks across Malta and Gozo.
However, after going back to its original format last year, the run has once again changed, this time to a walk in an effort to bring more people together, Vella said.
“Thankfully, that has passed and we are hoping it will be as big as it was once before,” the President said, appealing to the public to join him and others on the annual trek.
Starting at 3pm on November 11 at Verdala Palace, attendees will pass through Sant’Anton Palace before ending their journey in front of the Presidential Palace in Valletta.
“Whoever wants to bring their dog or pets can enjoy the walk with them,” he said with a smile.
Participants will be able to park their cars in the Valletta area and take organised transport from the capital to the walk's starting point at Verdala Palace. More information on transport will be released in the future, a spokesperson for the President said.
Also at the launch, Education Minister Clifton Grima emphasised how events such as this one show the country’s unification as they walk shoulder-to-shoulder with their president.
“We will be thousands of Maltese and Gozitans from different walks of life… joined together behind the president,” Grima said.
To book a spot in the walk and receive a free commemorative T-shirt register at the Cottonera Sports Complex, Kirkop Sports Complex, National Pool, Malta Community Chest Fund offices in Valletta and Victoria, Gozo, The Kitchen Garden, Sant’Anton Palace, all Maypole shops and online at mccf.store.
Registration is €10.