Sleepless in Qawra as Lost and Found rave stretches into early morning

The Lost and Found rave festival is once again set to be a roaring success, attracting around 8,000 mostly British youths.

However, Qawra residents are bearing the brunt of the event and have been left unable to sleep due to the loud noise levels.

“The party continued till around 3:30am last night,” Manuel Muscat, 58, told MaltaToday. “The music was so loud that my walls and doors were vibrating. I couldn’t sleep in my own house and eventually had to drive off somewhere quiet and sleep in my car.”

He said that he had complained to the police, but that they said they were powerless to take action as the event organisers had been granted a permit.

Moreover, he added that party-goers had urinated on the streets and by parked cars.

“Everybody who lives here is complaining about the event,” he said. “EU funds were used to build a national aquarium, but instead the area is becoming another Paceville.”

The weekend-long Lost and Found festival is headlined by prominent BBC DJ Annie Mac, and features singers and DJs such as Mark Ronson, Katy B and the duo Disclosure. It is being organised in several hotels and complexes around Bugibba, Qawra and St Paul's Bay, with parties held in castles, on boats, in pools, and in a large open discotheque.