The Maltese calendar is built around the festa (a village feast). Every village keeps its patron saint’s feast, and for a week the place rearranges itself around it. There are banners across the streets, a band marching at midnight, and fireworks that would be illegal almost anywhere else.
Around that sit fourteen public holidays, a carnival, a summer of festivals and whatever happens to be on this weekend. Feast dates move year to year, so ours are confirmed for the current year rather than copied from last season.
- What’s on this weekendEverything happening this weekend, refreshed as it is confirmed.
- Events calendarThe full calendar: festas, holidays, concerts and one-offs.
- Public holidays in MaltaAll fourteen, what closes on each, and which ones stop the buses.
- Annual eventsThe fixed points of the Maltese year, and when each one falls.
The shape of the year
Village festas
Somewhere on the islands has one most weekends through the summer. The bands play from Friday, the main procession is on Sunday, and the fireworks go up late on Saturday and Sunday nights.
They cost nothing and nobody is performing for visitors. If you see one thing on this page, make it this.
The festa calendar
Public holidays
That is more than almost anywhere in Europe. Five mark points in Maltese history and nine are religious feasts, all set in law rather than by custom.
On each one the banks, government offices and most shops close, and the buses drop to a Sunday timetable.
All fourteen
Carnival, fireworks and jazz
Carnival falls before Lent, the international fireworks festival is in spring, Notte Bianca is in October and the jazz festival is in July.
These are the four with a national scale, and each one is worth building a trip around.
Annual events
Go to a village festa rather than a scheduled event. They peak on the Saturday and Sunday night, they cost nothing, and nobody is putting it on for tourists. The festa calendar shows which village is celebrating on any given week.