Back to Comino: Moviment Graffitti announce protest over 'hijacking' of Blue Lagoon

Moviment Graffitti will be removing empty deckchairs and umbrellas from Blue Lagoon again, and are this time inviting the public to protest with them. 

The NGO will be holding a public protest at Blue Lagoon on Saturday 13 August, saying that the beach "continues to be hijacked by commercial interests". 

"We will not accept a situation where a few people with money and political influence snatch what rightfully belongs to the people. Neither will we accept that these companies continue with their destruction of a nature reserve for their private profits," the NGO said. 

Activists will be protesting with four key demands: deckchairs and umbrellas can only be set up at the request of a person physically present on the spot (and should never occupy more than 30%); big boats which disembark hundreds of tourists at a time are prohibited from Comino; a limit of two small kiosks without music in the Blue Lagoon; a restriction on the type and amount of waste generated.

Last month, activists and members of Moviment Graffitti launched an early morning direct action on Comino, protesting the private concessions blocking access to the public coastline. Activists removed the laid-out deckchairs and folded them neatly against a retaining wall. 

Deckchairs and umbrellas have hogged Comino’s Blue Lagoon throughout many a summer. A petition in 2021 asked MPs for “the removal of sun beds and deckchairs from Comino”, gathering over 600 signatures.

The deckchairs are placed on every inch of the shoreline - jetty, beaches and rocks - before the first tourist boats arrive, by private vendors who treat the Blue Lagoon as their own personal beach lido.

While the NGO has made repeated demands to ministers on the issue, the beach continues to be taken up by empty deckchairs and umbrellas. 

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo had said that he issued an order so that no umbrellas and deckchairs are placed on the sandy beach, but Moviment Graffitti claimed otherwise. 

The NGO said that only a few deckchairs on the small sandy part of the beach had been removed. The rest of the area, including the quay, walkway, and another small beach, was still covered in empty deckchairs and umbrellas from early morning. 

Those interested in joining the protest may book their place on the boat via an online registration form. Boats will depart to the Blue Lagoon from Ċirkewwa  or Mġarr (Gozo) at 8am. There will be a number of return trips starting from noon.