Carnival's colourful floats and dancers will return to the streets of Valletta this year - but not until May, Culture Minister Jose Herrera has announced.

While Carnival will still take place as usual between February 25 and March 1 it will be a more muted affair, with exhibitions and plays but no parade.

Instead, a second event is slated for May 20 to 22, with carnival floats returning for the first time since 2020.

“As we are becoming more relaxed in our COVID-19 protocols, it seemed fit that at the end of May there will be a normal Carnival,” Herrera told Times of Malta at a news conference on Monday. 

The May celebrations will only be held as a special one-off event this year, and will not replace the usual February Carnival celebrations.

Large crowds gather every year in Valletta to watch the floats and dancers parade through the streets but due to restrictions on group gatherings, it was cancelled last year, for the first time since World War II.

Herrera said it was "still a bit early" to stage parades in February that attract tens of thousands of people. 

He referred to the announcement that traditional village feasts may be celebrated once again from April.

Large crowds take part in or gather to watch the annual Carnival parade, which was last held in February 2020 - a month before Malta recorded its first COVID-19 case. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Last week, the Band Clubs association said they could take place as long as COVID-19 cases in the community remain under control. 

Malta saw record numbers of virus cases at the beginning of the year, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant spread rapidly through the country. 

However, the daily figures have dropped recently from a high of 1,147 cases on January 5 to 169 cases on Monday - the lowest number in more than five weeks. 

"Hundreds of enthusiasts are preparing for this great day - companies, people who create floats, many people," said Herrera. "So hopefully, at the end of May we will have a normal carnival."

Festivals Malta had previously indicated that the February event would have no parades when they announced an “alternative cultural programme”.

Carnival Artistic director Jason Busutill said the five-day programme includes over 100 installations throughout the streets of Valletta, and other towns such as Floriana, Marsa and Qormi.

It will also include an exhibition of costumes and Carnival-related photography and an interpretation of the Qarċilla in Spazju Kreattiv. Busutill said another play will take part at the Manoel Theatre.  

‘Il-Karnival fil-Manoel… Kuluri u fantasija’ is an interactive children’s play, where attendees will get to discover the history of Carnival through dance, games and singing.

There will also be a masquerade show held at Ta’ Qali.