Organising small parties will no longer require €11,000 bank guarantee

A legal amendment to the Maintenance of Good Order at Places of Entertainment Regulations will be making it easier to organise parties and music events, Arts Council executive director Albert Marshall said on Monday.

A legal notice published two weeks ago, amended the regulations to regularise entertainment events organised for those under the age of seventeen and removing the need for a bank guarantee when organising events at outdoor venues smaller than 750 sq.m.

The amendments have also altered the definition of a place of entertainment to include “any unlicensed venue that is being used to host outdoor events for persons under the age of seventeen”.

The amended law will also require any employees present at such events to have been vetted by the Commissioner of Police to ensure that they are of good conduct. A list of employees working at the event will have to be submitted to the police beforehand.

Speaking at a press conference announcing the new regulations, Marshall said the government felt the need to change the laws, which he described as “draconian”.

Before the amendments, organisers would have needed a bank guarantee of €11,000 to be able to organise events in areas smaller than 750 sq.m.

Home Affairs minister Michael Farrugia also noted that the new regulations would be significantly reducing the amount needed when organising events in areas greater than 750 sq.m.

Farrugia also said that work was currently underway to ensure that the police were equipped to effectively monitor noise levels at events, while urging organisers to respect residents around them.

The issue had been raised last year by Joven Grech, a DJ known better as Tenishia, who had told the Times of Malta that the bank guarantee was prohibitive and that the number of hoops one had to jump through to be able to organise such an event did not make sense.

He had told the newspaper that he was holding regular meetings with the Police Commissioner and a representative from the Office of the Prime Minister in the hope of addressing the issue.
Grech told Monday’s press conference that the changes would help up and coming performers.