Events & festivals
10 festivals and events on Malta and Gozo, listed by month, from Carnival and the Holy Week processions to the International Fireworks Festival, the summer festas and the October start of the Rolex Middle Sea Race from the Grand Harbour.
BirguFest
An October festival in Birgu (Vittoriosa) when the street lights go off and the old town's lanes and stairways are lit by thousands of candles.
Explore event →Feast of Santa Marija
The Assumption on 15 August is a summer feast day in Malta, with processions, band marches and fireworks in several towns and at Gozo Cathedral in Victoria.
Explore event →Holy Week and Easter in Malta
From Palm Sunday to Easter morning, parishes across Malta and Gozo stage Passion processions with statues, costumed figures and band music, led by Good Friday.
Explore event →L-Imnarja (Mnarja)
Malta's old harvest feast of St Peter and St Paul: an evening gathering in Buskett Gardens on 28 June, then traditional races below Mdina on the 29 June holiday.
Explore event →Malta Carnival
Five days of float parades, costumed dance companies and grotesque masks in Valletta and Floriana before Lent, plus Gozo's darker, home-made carnival in Nadur.
Explore event →Malta International Fireworks Festival
An April fireworks festival run by the Malta Tourism Authority, opening in Gozo and moving to the Grand Harbour for competitive pyro-musical nights and a finale.
Explore event →Malta Jazz Festival
Festivals Malta's annual jazz week in Valletta each July, with headline concerts on the Grand Harbour waterfront plus smaller shows, screenings and family events.
Explore event →Notte Bianca
An October night when Valletta turns into an open-air arts venue, with music, theatre and installations in its streets, squares and historic buildings.
Explore event →Rolex Middle Sea Race
An October offshore yacht race of about 606 nautical miles round Sicily, starting from the Grand Harbour in Valletta and organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club.
Explore event →Victory Day Regatta
On Victory Day, 8 September, harbour towns race traditional Maltese boats in the Grand Harbour, after the state ceremony marking the end of the 1565 Great Siege.
Explore event →Plan around the festa calendar
Some dates never move: Mnarja falls on 29 June, the Feast of Santa Marija on 15 August and the Victory Day regatta on 8 September. Carnival and Holy Week are tied to the date of Easter, and organisers set the dates of the fireworks festival, Notte Bianca and Birgufest each year, so check each event page before you book flights.