What's on in Malta: the 2026 and 2027 events calendar, official dates only

For a country of just 316 square kilometres, Malta has a remarkably full events calendar, and a good chunk of it is free. Three very different engines drive it. Festivals Malta, the public agency behind the national festivals. The Church and the villages, with their festas, Holy Week and Christmas. And the tourism authority, which brings in big-name concerts and the fireworks festival. Here are the dates that are already official, and how the year fits together.

What already has a date

The nearest is Notte Bianca, which fills Valletta from 18:00 to 23:50 on Saturday 3 October 2026. Held by Festivals Malta each year on October’s opening Saturday, it turns Valletta’s streets, churches, palaces and museums into free venues. With the sea still at 24°C, it’s one of the reasons I rate Malta in October so highly. In Gozo, October is opera month, with two productions in Victoria, La Traviata (17th) and Madama Butterfly (29th and 31st). The Three Palaces then runs to 1 November, and on 20 and 21 December Heritage Malta hosts the solstice at the Qrendi temples.

Festivals Malta has already published its 2027 calendar. The Valletta Baroque Festival runs from 7 to 24 January, opening on the 7th with a Pergolesi concert at the Co-Cathedral. Malta Carnival is 5 to 9 February. Then come Mużika Mużika (11 to 13 March), Festgħana (20 to 23 May), the Malta International Arts Festival (11 to 20 June) and the Malta Jazz Festival (5 to 10 July). It’s all in the table.

Why the religious calendar matters most

Ask me which events define Malta and I’ll say the religious ones, no contest. visitmalta pitches them the same way, as the authentic Maltese experience, and it’s right. From late May to September, each village honours its patron saint with a feast lasting three days or more, with decorations, bands and fireworks, and there’s hardly a weekend without one. I explain how to enjoy them on Malta’s village feasts.

Holy Week begins on the Friday before Good Friday with the procession of Our Lady of Sorrows and ends on Easter Sunday with the Risen Christ statue rushed back into church. Good Friday 2027 is 26 March. Christmas fills the islands with cribs, carols and, in Gozo, the living nativity at Għajnsielem. Each has its own page, Easter in Malta and the Christmas guide linked below.

Carnival, fireworks and the big gigs

February is carnival month, with giant floats, masks and dancing in Valletta and Floriana, and a spontaneous, satirical version in Nadur on Gozo. It’s all on Malta Carnival.

April brings the international fireworks festival. The 2026 edition, the 25th, ran from 18 to 30 April, opening in Nadur and with the competition and finale over the Grand Harbour. There’s no 2027 date yet. More on the Malta fireworks festival.

Summer is big-concert season. In 2026 there was Isle of MTV on 22 July, free in Il Fosos Square, and two SummerDaze nights at Ta’ Qali with Lewis Capaldi and Calvin Harris. Festivals Malta added Dance Festival Malta at the end of July and three days of summer carnival by the sea in Buġibba and Marsaskala in late August. The MTV show has its own page, Isle of MTV Malta.

National days and museum events

Alongside the religious holidays, Malta has five national days, and two are very visible. On 8 September, Victory Day, there’s a ceremony in Valletta and a boat race on the harbour later on. On 21 September the country marks independence from Britain. Every bank holiday date is on its own public holidays page.

Heritage Malta publishes its annual programme each January, with equinoxes and solstices at the temples, In Guardia re-enactments at Fort St Elmo, night visits and special openings. The 2026 programme has In Guardia in October, November and December. The 2027 one isn’t out yet, and Heritage Malta itself warns that dates can change.

How not to miss anything

My practical tip is to check four websites before you book. Festivals Malta for the national festivals, the Malta Tourism Authority for the major events, Heritage Malta’s calendar for museums and sites, and Visit Gozo, which publishes the island’s festa calendar every year. Dates for 2027 are still missing for several big ones, from the fireworks festival to Isle of MTV, so I update this page as they come out. And if your trip falls in winter, what’s on in those weeks is on Malta at Christmas.