European Parliament awards Lockdown Festival Malta Citizen’s Prize

The Lockdown Festival Malta was awarded the Citizen’s Prize 2020, an award by the European Parliament for exceptional achievements by citizens in EU Member States. The award recognises projects promoting better mutual understanding and closer integration between citizens of the Member States or facilitating cross-border or transnational cooperation within the European Union.

For the first time in 2020, the ECP was open to nominations by the public. The prize has been awarded by the European Parliament in the different Member States since 2008 and consists of a symbolic plaque or medal of honour.

This was the first initiative in Malta that aimed to support freelance artists as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The festival organisers reached over 60,000 viewers along with thousands of engagements and hundreds of shares in only five days. Via digital technology, connections were made with artists in Malta and other countries, and a sense of community created, with people watching, sharing and donating to the performers.

The Lockdown Festival Malta brought together 17 acts both locally and internationally to perform live from their own indoors. The festival was streamed through its Facebook page between 20 and 22 March 2020 and provided a space for artists to share their art, bringing positivity and energy to the audiences experiencing it and creating a feeling of togetherness on the web.

Past winners of the prize in Malta include the ALS Foundation, l-Għaqda Każini tal-Banda, the Richmond Foundation, Dar il-Kaptan, Hospice Malta, Puttinu Cares Children's Cancer Support Group, Caritas Malta, and Chris Delicata, President and Regional Chair of the International Diabetes Federation Europe Region (IDF Europe).