Gozo’s lack of fireworks factories raises safety concern

Gozo has no fireworks factories, and getting one is a safety necessity, not just a logistical need, according to Pyrotechnics Association President Godfrey Farrugia.

All 21 feasts celebrated across Gozo depend entirely on fireworks made in Malta and transported across the channel.

“The double insularity of Gozo and the inadequate berthing facilities offered during transportation prove to be very expensive and a risk factor,” Farrugia said in a conversation with MaltaToday. “Resolving this issue is a safety necessity, not just a logistical inconvenience.”

There are 89 non-profit fireworks groups across Malta and Gozo, each tied to a village feast, but only 31 have a factory, meaning 67 feasts depend on a limited number of facilities to supply their displays.

Most festive groups are facing rising material and permit costs, and since the Planning Authority introduced its fireworks factory policy in 2014, only one new factory has been approved.

Farrugia said building or upgrading a factory is not straightforward; any application must be approved by the Fireworks Factory Technical Committee, which requires representatives from the police, civil protection and the armed forces to sign off that all possible risks have been reduced to a minimum. “An application can take years,” he said.

However, Farrugia insisted Gozo should have its own factories to reduce the pressure and risks associated with having all the island’s fireworks needs being serviced in Malta.

‘There is no feast without fireworks’

On calls to reduce noise levels or introduce silent fireworks, Farrugia drew a firm distinction between sound and noise. There is no such thing as a truly silent firework; even colour-producing aerial fireworks require a burst charge to launch and explode, and both produce sound, he said.

“Any combustion, even one’s car, produces sound,” he noted. “One cannot eliminate sound from the combustion of aerial fireworks.”

But Farrugia rejected the characterisation of maroons and cracker shells as noise, arguing that those unacquainted with the craft hear them differently to those who understand it. “For those who are unread in the art, such sounds are negatively described as noise. The informed listener appreciates the character of the different and multiple sound effects,” he said.

The loud daytime fireworks that mark the Angelus at 8am and noon, and the beginning and end of liturgical celebrations, serve a specific function, Farrugia insisted. “They connect the external celebration in the streets to what is happening inside the church. Low-noise alternatives exist abroad, but they are not silent, only quieter.”

Farrugia also took issue with how those involved in the tradition are described, saying the term ‘enthusiast’ is routinely applied to people who are, in fact, licensed and trained. In Malta, a licensed enthusiast, a Licence B holder, must always work under the supervision of a fully qualified pyrotechnician—someone who has completed two years of hands-on experience and passed a four-hour written police exam.

A fireworks supporter holds no licence at all, and attends displays only as a spectator. “Treating the three as interchangeable creates a false impression of who is doing the work,” Farrugia said.

‘No tradition is worth a single life’

The Maltese festa, inscribed on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage in 2023, has been celebrated for four centuries. In 19 weeks of summer, 89 feasts take place across Malta and Gozo, each anchored to a patron saint, and each marked by fireworks.

Farrugia said the tradition’s recognition extends beyond UNESCO to the courts, claiming the European Court of Human Rights has affirmed fireworks as a community right. “There is no feast without fireworks,” he said.

The Salini factory that exploded on 1 June was reportedly storing fireworks destined for around five separate feasts, including two in Gozo, at the time of the blast.

The massive explosion registered 1.9 on the Richter scale, was heard from several kilometres away, and resulted in more than 300 damage reports being filed with the police within a 2km radius of the blast site. Around 90 agricultural and livestock farmers were also affected.

A magisterial inquiry into the incident led by Magistrate Joe Mifsud is ongoing.

Farrugia declined to comment on the Salini case, citing the magisterial inquiry. He also refrained from talking about the Birżebbuġa case, in which a court issued an order limiting the locality’s festa to smaller fireworks following damage to nearby farmland. Once again, Farrugia cited ongoing proceedings.

However, he insisted that all fireworks displays are covered by insurance and licensed pyrotechnicians must abide by strict police permits under the Control of Fireworks and Other Explosives Regulations.

On the question of where the line sits between cultural preservation and protecting human life, Farrugia said the two are not in conflict. “The protection of our culture depends entirely on the survival of the people of our nation,” he said.

Farrugia said the association had spent more than half a decade working to ensure the unique artistry of Maltese pyrotechnics thrives for future generations, and that it had always worked with the relevant authorities on any regulatory updates governing the sector. Safety, he said, remains its “highest and non-negotiable” priority.

“No pyrotechnic display and no tradition, no matter how deeply rooted, is worth the loss of a single life.”