Malta takes fireworks more seriously than any country its size has reason to. Villages maintain their own fireworks factories, competition between them is intense, and the skill is a recognised craft rather than a hobby.
The international festival is where that gets put on display deliberately, rather than at three in the morning during a festa (a village feast).
Where to watch
The Grand Harbour
Fireworks reflected off Valletta’s bastions from across the water is one of the great sights of the Maltese year.
The Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens and the Three Cities waterfronts opposite are free. They fill hours ahead.
The harbour
From the water
Operators run boat trips for the main night. They are expensive, and worth it if you came for the fireworks.
It usually runs over several nights in spring, with other venues taking the smaller displays.
Boat trips
Villages build their own
Most parishes maintain a fireworks factory and the rivalry between them is serious. Maltese pyrotechnics is a recognised craft with its own apprenticeships.
That is why the displays are far beyond what a country this size would normally produce.
Festas and fireworks
During festa season, fireworks go off at close range, late, with no warning and no cordon in the way you might expect elsewhere. That is normal here. Keep your distance from the launch area and do not assume there is a safety perimeter.