The government has completed the €7.4 million purchase of the King’s Own Band Club premises in Valletta part of a wider €30 million investment to safeguard Malta’s traditional band clubs.
A few days after the presentation of the 2026 Budget, the Ministry for Culture, Lands and Local Government definitively concluded the process of purchasing the headquarters of the King’s Own Valletta Band.
This society was at real and serious risk of facing eviction from its headquarters due to the legal situation related to pre-1995 leases. In total, the Ministry invested €7.4 million for the acquisition of the property as payment for the purchase of the building and as well as €1.8 million representing payment of damages to the owners according to the law.
This brings the number of musical society seats that the Ministry has definitively concluded the purchase process to 13, and to these must be added another property that is still under contract, the club of the Madonna of Pompeii Society in Marsaxlokk, for which a final contract must be drawn up.
Minister for Culture, Lands and Local Government Owen Bonnici said “Today we are bringing peace of mind to another historic Society that for many years was a pillar of the Maltese Festa. The Government is ensuring that this property continues to be used for the good of the community and culture. Never before has a Government invested so much in the Festas – with more than €30 million to save 14 band clubs, with the Festas also being recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible World Heritage Site.”
“All of this shows how much this Government believes in our cultural heritage and in the strength of Maltese identity – all of this is possible because Malta has a solid and strong economy,” concluded Minister Bonnici.
The thirteen clubs of musical societies that have been conclusively purchased by the Ministry so far are: the San Gejtanu Music Society AD 1906, the Marija Reġina Marsa Musical Society A.D. 1977, the Stella Levantina Musical Society of Attard, the Circolo San Giuseppe Filarmonika Sagra Familja of Kalkara, the Santa Liena Banda Duke of Connaught’s Own Society of Birkirkara, the Antoine de Paule Musical Society of Paola, the Stella Maris Musical Society of Tas-Sliema, the San Pietru fil-Ktajjen Musical Society of Birżebbuġa, the Anici Socio-Musical Society of Qormi, the headquarters of the Santa Marija Philharmonic Society in Mosta, the headquarters of the Sant’Andrija Society in Lija and the headquarters of the 12th May Band in Żebbuġ.
In total, the Ministry is expected to invest a total of €30 million when one considers the amount that has already been invested in the acquisition of the thirteen properties mentioned and the amount that must be spent when one considers that there is the headquarters of the Madonna of Pompei in Marsaxlokk for which a final contract has yet to be concluded.
